This muscle car conquered Ferraris before vanishing into thin air to become a forgotten American legend

American company Pontiac once produced a rare muscle car that could take the fight to Ferrari on the racetrack.

Pontiac is one of the most famous names in American automotive history, even more than a decade after the company disappeared.

In the 1960s, the company made one of the most outrageous muscle cars ever, a special Tempest Super Duty that, on the face of it, looked quite tame.

However, it hid beneath its skin an incredible level of power, and it was so fast that it was able to take on and beat the mighty Ferrari 250 GTO.

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The Pontiac Tempest Super Duty first made an appearance at the Daytona American Challenge Cup of 1963.

At this event, the car was up against the likes of the Ferrari 250 GTO as well as vehicles from Jaguar, Porsche, and Chevrolet.

Driver Paul Goldsmith stunned onlookers as the Pontiac took the fight to its more exotic rivals.

The Tempest Super Duty was able to do this thanks to some incredible engineering.

Under the hood was a 421ci V8 engine, an engine so aggressive it was banned from NASCAR.

The engine made 405hp and 425lb-ft of torque, and it had a top speed of over 140mph.

A rear-mounted transmission provided amazing weight distribution, which helped in its fight against its rivals.

The clever engineering was a shock to its European rivals, who assumed American cars were all about brute force.

But what made the Tempest Super Duty so interesting was just how quickly it vanished, no sooner had it appeared.

Pontiac produced just a handful of the Tempest Super Duty, with no more than a dozen made.

The car was too fast and wild for mass production.

A racing ban for General Motors in 1963 didn’t help either.

Because of all this, the Tempest Super Duty briefly exploded onto the scene, before vanishing again in a flash.

Thanks to their rapid disappearance, the Tempest Super Duty is now one of the rarest muscle cars on the planet.

If you do find one for sale, be prepared for it to be listed at a crazy high figure, and likely well out of reach!

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