Pontiac Safari

Pontiac Safari
Overview
Manufacturer - Pontiac (General Motors)
Production - 1955-1989
Model years - 1955-1989 (except 1982-1986)
Body and chassis
Class - Full-size
Body style - 3-door station wagon (1955-1957) / 5-door station wagon (1958-1989)
Chronology
Successor - Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari / Pontiac Trans Sport

The Pontiac Safari is a line of station wagons that was produced by Pontiac from 1955 to 1989. Initially introduced as the Pontiac counterpart of the two-door Chevrolet Nomad, the division adopted the nameplate across its full-size wagon range in 1957. Through its production, the Safari was positioned between Chevrolet full-size station wagons and below its Buick and Oldsmobile counterparts. During the mid-1960s, the Safari added simulated woodgrain trim to the exterior, becoming a feature associated with the model line.
The name "safari" is derived from the Swahili word safari, which means journey, originally from the Arabic سفر (safar) meaning a journey; the verb for "to travel" in Swahili is kusafiri. As General Motors expanded into the intermediate, compact, and subcompact segments, the Safari nameplate saw a similar usage as the Estate (Buick, Chevrolet) and Cruiser (Oldsmobile) nameplates, denoting the highest-trim station wagon in each model range.
After 1989, Pontiac became the first GM division to discontinue its full-size wagons; along with model overlap between its divisional counterparts, demand for full-size wagons had been overtaken by minivans. For 1990, the Pontiac Trans Sport was introduced as the first Pontiac minivan. After 1991, Pontiac ended its use of the Safari nameplate (and production of station wagons) entirely; the GMC Safari continued through the 2005 model year.

1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari

1955-1957 (A-body)

Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari Series 27
Overview
Production - 1955-1957
Assembly - Pontiac Assembly, Pontiac, Michigan / South Gate Assembly, South Gate, California / Lakewood Assembly, Atlanta, Georgia / Framingham Assembly, Framingham, Massachusetts / Fairfax Assembly, Kansas City, Kansas / Arlington Assembly, Arlington, Texas / Linden Assembly, Linden, New Jersey / Wilmington Assembly, Wilmington, Delaware
Body and chassis
Body style - 3-door station wagon / 5-door station wagon (1957 Transcontinental)
Platform - A-body
Powertrain
Engine - 287 cu in (4.7 L) Strato Streak V8 (1955) / 316.6 cu in (5.2 L) V8 (1956) / 347 cu in (5.7 L) V8 (1957)
Transmission - 3-speed manual / 3-speed Strato-Flight Hydra-Matic
Dimensions
Wheelbase - 122 in (3,100 mm)
Length - 204.3 in (5,189 mm)
Width - 76.6 in (1,950 mm)
Curb weight - 3,746 lb (1,699 kg)

The first-generation Pontiac Safari was developed as a divisional counterpart of the Chevrolet Nomad. The two-door sport wagon began life as a 1954 Motorama concept car derived from the Chevrolet Corvette. To decrease tooling and production costs, the design was shifted to the full-size A-body chassis (from the Corvette) to increase its sales potential; to further decrease overall design costs, the Pontiac Safari was created to share the design across two divisions.
Sharing its 122-inch wheelbase A-body chassis with the Nomad (derived from the Chevrolet Bel Air), the Safari shared its exterior bodywork with the Pontiac Chieftain. Though using the shorter-wheelbase A-body chassis, Pontiac considered the Safari part of the B-body Pontiac Star Chief series, officially designating it as the Star Chief Custom Safari (Series 27).
1955
Introduced on January 31, 1955, the Pontiac Safari served as the flagship Pontiac station wagon; at $2,962 ($32,358 in 2022 dollars), it also was the most expensive Pontiac model line before optional equipment was added using the GM "A" platform. To distinguish the model from the Nomad, the Safari was fitted with a Pontiac Chieftain front fascia and model-specific rear taillamps, styled by Pontiac stylist Paul Gillan (who received a U.S. patent for the front fascia design).
In contrast with a standard two-door 860 "Colony" station wagon (also derived from the Chieftain), the Safari was styled with coupe-style front doors, forward-raked B-pillars (with windows wrapping around from pillar to pillar); along with extra chrome trim (fitted to the tailgate), the rear seat windows slid open. In line with the Nomad being derived from the top-trim Bel Air, the interior of the Safari was shared with Star Chief sedans.
The Safari was fitted with a 287 cubic-inch V8, producing 180 hp with a 2-barrel carburetor or 200 hp with a 4-barrel carburetor.
For 1955, 3,760 examples of the Safari were produced, serving as the lowest-production Pontiac for the model year.
1956
For 1956, the Safari underwent a minor exterior revision. Along with a redesign to the front and rear bumpers, the bodyside trim was restyled. As two-tone paint was standard for the model line, the change now painted the roof in the accent color; the interior also saw revisions to the seats and door panels.
The V8 engine was expanded to 317 cubic inches for 1956, with the Safari offering 227 hp in its standard configuration (single 4-bbl carburetor); an optional 216 hp version was offered (with a 2-bbl carburetor), and 285 hp (with 2x4-bbl carburetors).
While 10 vehicles were produced with a manual transmission, a 4-speed automatic transmission was paired with the V8 as standard equipment.
For its first full year, the Safari improved sales to 4,042, again serving as the lowest-produced Pontiac.
1957
For 1957, Pontiac expanded the usage of the Safari nameplate to all of its station wagons, replacing the previous 860 and 870 with Chieftain Safari and Super Chief Safari station wagons. The previous Star Chief Custom two-door sport wagon remained in production; during the middle of the 1957 model year, a four-door Star Chief Custom station wagon was introduced, named the Safari Transcontinental. In contrast to the two-door Safari and its four-door counterparts, the Safari Transcontinental was fitted with model-specific side trim (shared with no other Pontiac) and a standard roof luggage rack.
As with all Star Chiefs, the two-door Safari was fitted with a 347 cubic-inch V8, produced with 270 hp (4-bbl) or 290 hp (3x2-bbl).
For 1957, the Star Chief Custom Safari declined in sales to 1,294 vehicles (1,894 Transcontinentals), again serving as the slowest-selling Pontiac; the model lost out to the Star Chief Bonneville as the most expensive model line.
In total, 9,094 examples of the A-body Safari were sold from 1955 to 1957.

1955 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari
1955 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari
1956 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari
1957 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari Transcontinental (four-door)

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