← Pontiac
Pontiac / Model record

PontiacTorpedo

1940–1948 United States passenger car 9 production years
Production1940–1948
Recorded originUnited States
Classpassenger car
Background

The Pontiac Torpedo was a full-sized car produced by Pontiac from the 1940 through the 1948 model year. When released, it was the biggest Pontiac, used an 8-cylinder engine, and it had more standard features than other Pontiacs. Although the Torpedo name was exclusive to the highest line of Pontiacs in 1940, in 1941 the name was applied to all Pontiacs in three separate lines. The Custom Torpedoes were now top-of-the-line name, while the DeLuxe Torpedo became the base line, and the Streamline Torpedo became the middle line of Pontiacs. All Torpedo models could be had with either a 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder engine beginning in 1941. From 1942 to 1948 the Torpedo name designated only the base line of Pontiacs. The Torpedo was replaced by the Pontiac Chieftain in 1949. It was with this generation that all GM vehicles experienced increased width dimensions to accommodate three passengers on the front bench seat and an additional three passengers on rear bench seat installed vehicles. This was accomplished with the deletion of running board thereby adding additional room inside the passenger compartment.

Text adapted from “Pontiac Torpedo” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07

Chronology ledger

Dates with their meaning intact

Production chronology1940–1948

Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.

Wikipedia lead ↗9 years
Netherlands RDW first-admission observations1941

First-admission years observed in Dutch vehicle registrations; this is market evidence, not a worldwide production range.

Netherlands RDW ↗1 year