A rare 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible, once used as a promotional car for the famous American Tin Indian racing team, has been put up for auction on the Hagerty Marketplace, reports Motorious.

Bids for the car have already exceeded $30,500, and the auction is still more than a week away. The Montreux Blue-colored car was delivered in new condition to the Knafel Pontiac dealership in Akron, Ohio. The company gained wide recognition thanks to its participation in Tin Indian racing.

However, this GTO was not used directly for racing: it was turned into a kind of mobile advertising billboard for the dealership. The car participated in various promotional events, including, according to available information, being presented in the parade held before the Daytona 500 race. The history of this car is confirmed by a letter written by the former owner of the dealership, Bill Knafel, in 1993.

The document was preserved with the car and was later passed on to subsequent owners. Under the hood is a 6.6-liter Pontiac 400 gasoline V8 engine, which was produced in the second week of May 1967. The engine works in tandem with a three-speed automatic transmission and a proprietary Hurst Dual-Gate “His/Hers” selector, which enables to choose between the usual automatic mode and manual gear shifting. The package includes a four-chamber carburetor, power steering, a white folding roof, Rally-style wheels, individual seats, a center console, a push-button radio, and inertial seat belts.

The body is painted Montreux Blue, the interior is covered in blue vinyl. The odometer shows 31,150 miles, or about 50,000 kilometers, but the seller warns that the accuracy of this reading cannot be confirmed. Until 1983, the car remained in the circle of people associated with the Knafel family and Tin Indian. The current owner acquired it in 2022. In the early 2000s, a ceramic coating was applied to the body. The buyer will receive Pontiac Historic Services documents, factory documentation, historical correspondence, and a clean Ohio title.

Hagerty estimates that a similar 1967 GTO Convertible in good condition is worth about $46,200. However, its automatic transmission reduces the guide price by about 10 percent, which gives a figure of about $41,000 to $42,000. Rarer versions with manual transmissions and Ram Air or HO engines are estimated at significantly higher prices, up to $74,500 in similar condition. The car’s history also increases its appeal to collectors. In particular, the previous comparable 1967 Pontiac GTO that Hagerty mentioned sold for $74,800 at a Mecum auction.

Moreover, the three-year price range for GTOs from that year is extremely wide, from a few thousand dollars for spare parts cars to $671,000 for rare and well-documented examples. The auction of this GTO, with its Tin Indian history, will continue until Friday. At the moment, the maximum bid is more than $30,500.