The white of the frozen lake of St Moritz highlights the intense turquoise of one of the most extravagant cars of this edition of The ICE St Moritz, the 1965 Pontiac Vivant 77 of the young American collector Phillip Sarofim, CEO and founder of the investment company Trousdale Ventures. A unique concept in the world with bizarre shapes reminiscent of those of a manta ray (the fish, not the Opel), designed by General Motors engineer Herb Adams and bodyworked by Harry Kennedy, Jack Henser and John Glover, also known as “the Beatles from Troy, Michigan”. The car features a “space frame” chassis with very advanced suspension for the time and uses a 400 horsepower V8 engine with an unmistakable sound. After its presentation at the 1966 Detroit Autorama Show it was long forgotten and rediscovered more than thirty years later. A perfect restoration won it the prize in its class at the Pebble Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach in 2017 and at The ICE St Moritz 2026 the Best of Sound award presented by Bang&Olufsen. An all-American story of passion and innovation, witness to an absolutely unconventional approach to automotive design. Fabrizio Giugiaro tells us about this precious 1965 Pontiac Vivant 77 to Gazzetta Motori.
