Someone Just Sold A Pontiac Sunfire On Fancy Car Auction Site ‘Bring A Trailer’

Strange things are happening in the world of online collector car auctions. Normally the home for vehicles like air-cooled Porsches, classic Ferraris, and restomodded Americana, fancy car auction site Bring A Trailer just celebrated a huge milestone — the first-ever Pontiac Sunfire sale on the platform.

Yes, someone submitted a Pontiac Sunfire to Bring A Trailer, and not only was it accepted for a no reserve auction, it managed to collect a handsome $6,401 hammer price. It’s not a race car, nor is it an ultra-rare variant or a GM concept car, but instead it’s a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire GT with an automatic transmission. Hot damn.

This is quite the about-face for the Sunfire, because just a few years ago, our own Stephen W. Gossin discovered that J-body coupes are extremely difficult to sell on, even at bargain prices. Perhaps Bring A Trailer would’ve been a better venue, or perhaps this particular Sunfire you see in these photos is a shining example.

While this 2001 Pontiac Sunfire GT might be a Canadian car, it hails from Vancouver, which is basically the Pacific Northwest except with even more weed. The mild local climate means that cars don’t rot out faster than you can say “We Build Excitement,” although given that I still see a handful of J-bodies still roaming the mean streets of Toronto, these cars really were built like cockroaches.

Although a litany of swirl marks suggest this Sunfire’s seen its fair share of automatic car washes, it’s also only covered around 65,000 kilometers — or about 40,000 miles — since it rolled off the dealership lot in 2001. What’s more, it has no entries for damage on its Carfax, which means we’re likely looking at original paint.

Oh, and since this is a 2001 GT model, you’ll find a 2.4-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine cranking out 150 horsepower and 155 lb.-ft. of torque. This LD9 four-banger got some proper upgrades for 2001 too, in order to alleviate some previous reliability concerns. A stronger timing chain and revised water pump should mean this thing’s built to last.

Moving inside this Sunfire, it’s cheap-as-chips early-aughts GM fare, but all well-preserved. The cloth seats still look like an abundant source of static electricity, the bubbly dashboard isn’t cracked into a million pieces, and the chasmic panel gaps are still exactly as you remember. It all feels like teleported from a used car lot 20 years in the past, and considering these were largely considered disposable cars, the fact that one like this exists feels like cause for celebration.

Of course, it wouldn’t be The Autopian if we didn’t talk about lighting, and I must admit, I’ve always liked the illuminated Pontiac wordmark on the back of the pre-2003 Sunfire coupe. Not only was illuminating it using the license plate lights a smart decision in adding some flair without adding much complexity, it’s just a great visual cue. Aside from the final facelift, this generation of Sunfire always had something to its appearance, a certain rakishness that went beyond the Honda Civic Coupe and even the Escort ZX/2.

I guess with the auctioning of this 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, the J-body has joined the list of automotive greats. We love to see it, especially considering how these cars provided faithful transportation to many, and still do today. Long may this one run.

(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)

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