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By Pontiac’s own admission the Grand Prix suffered 10 years of decay as what started life as a personal luxury performance coupe for the ’60s evolved into a mileage-minded economy car for the ’80s.

What once aroused excitement became a yawner, a vehicle for those who retire shortly after sunset.

The car lost its sporty identity and its following. Sales tumbled to fewer than 50,000 a year in the ’80s from 200,000 in the ’70s.

Pontiac had two choices–retreat or revamp–and it chose the latter. The car slowly won back a following in the ’90s, and now Pontiac promises to recapture all it lost glory thanks to major reconstructive surgery for 1997.

To rebuild its image and restore its performance identity, Pontiac came up with a mission statement for its redesigned midsize Grand Prix sports coupe and sedan that targets the cars toward “energetic, confident drivers in their late 30s and early 40s who want the most dramatic, most exciting-to-drive midsize car.”

Other than pinpointing age groups, the generality-filled mission statement implies that those who don’t buy a Pontiac Grand Prix are comatose, unconfident oafs who favor station wagons.

Pontiac should let the car speak for itself, which it did quite well in a series of test drives of the 1997 Grand Prix lineup here at a media preview before its arrival in showrooms in August. The ’97 Prix is its own most literate spokesman.

All the marketing mumbo-jumbo aside, the ’97 Prix represents a leap forward in technology after decades of stumbling over its own bumpers.

When John Z. DeLorean labored as Pontiac’s chief engineer, he developed the wide-tracking philosophy of moving the wheels out to increase stance and improve ride and handling–like balancing on a stool and then moving to a bench. The 1997 Grand Prix sports a two-inch-wider track upfront, three inches in the rear. The wider stance means greater stability as well as greater directional sense.

The first interstate merger ramp we encountered here provided evidence of what wide tracking means–sitting flat, hugging the pavement and accelerating through the bend so you are traveling faster when departing the ramp than when you entered. Wide tracking finds the straightest path into and out of the curve.

Wide tracking takes two feet out of the car’s turning radius, which not only shows up on merger ramps but also on those occasions when you have only two lanes and a narrow shoulder to swing north when you’ve been traveling south by mistake.

Complementing wide tracking and contributing to Prix performance is a revised engine lineup. The 3.4-liter, 210-horsepower V-6 has been replaced by the 3.8-liter, 195-h.p. normally aspirated V-6 in the Grand Prix GT sedan and coupe, and the 240-h.p. supercharged 3.8-liter in the GTP sedan or coupe.

The 3.8 push rod is one of GM’s best engin es and the one labeled “bulletproof” by those turned on by the smell of 30-weight oil. It also is less costly to produce than the multi valve overhead cam 3.4-liter V-6.

As a reminder that you have 240 horses at your disposal, an exhaust growl is built in. The growl is louder in the GTP, in which we spent the most time, than in the GT.

The 3.8 V-6 is the same used by many GM divisions, but Pontiac set it apart.

“We focused on launch or bite feel off the line, more low-end, quick-open throttle without lurching but without a hair-trigger, either,” said Pontiac chief engineer Byron Warner.

“We also have a throatier exhaust because we want our drivers to know something is going on when they hit the pedal,” Warner said.

In developing the new Prix, Pontiac focused on owner complaints about high-effort steering that meant cumbersome maneuvering plus a too-firm suspension.

For ’97, variable-effort steering has been added that’s less heavy in low-speed maneuvers, less jerky in high-speed turns. And the suspension has been revised to provide smooth ride and handling without jolting occupants at each pock mark in the road.

“We didn’t want to beat up the driver,” Warner said.

In an unusual move, the suspension in all Prix models is the same, shock valving to sway bars. The only difference is the tires–15-inch radials on the base SE, 16-inch treads on the GT and 16-inchtouring tires with a little more sure-footedness on the GTP.

Ride, handling and performance are vastly improved over previous versions, but the one disappointment is the rather bland styling.

We had expected a bulging hood, dramatically flared wheel wells, grooved rocker panel extensions fore to aft and a large deck lid spoiler hinting at the potential for speeds that would make the plastic airfoil necessary to hold the car to the road.

What you get for 1997 is wheel wells with only a minor flare and a spoiler that sits rather flat on the deck lid and very few pounds of decorative plastic bolted to the body for performance window dressing.

Bill Heugh, Grand Prix brand manager, says plastic add-ons weren’t needed.

“When a Grand Prix and Cutlass had similar designs, you had to separate the Prix by covering the body with plastic. The ’97 Prix doesn’t share sheet metal, doors or fenders with any other car so we didn’t need the plastic,” he said.

However, Pontiac is preparing to add the same Ram Air induction system to the supercharged 3.8-liter V-6 as it did to the 5.7-liter V-8 powering the Trans Am WS6 sports coupe. Ram Air will not only mean at least a 15-h.p. boost, but also a hood bulge to handle the Ram Air hardware. Coming soon, but not at the outset of the model run.

Pontiac boasts that Grand Prix was designed as a coupe with a low-slung roof line and then two doors were added to come up with a sedan. With body-colored door handles and thin roof pillars, the sedan looks like a coupe regardless of the roof lines.

To provide more rear-seat headroom (despite the lower roof), the seat bottom was lowered, a design gimmick that provides a rather spacious rear seat.

To add to comfort, the front seat track was lengthened by 2.5 inches to give taller drivers more leg room. In lengthening the seat track, Pontiac also widened it so rear-seat occupants can slip their feet between the tracks for a more comfortable ride.

Front seats also were widened at shoulder level and a power adjustable lumbar support added throughout the seat and not just in the lower back, where inflation can feel like a baseball sticking you in the back.

Nice touch, but while seats are wider at the shoulder they also are flat there without any curved bolster, so they offer minimal upper body support in aggressive maneuvering.

In terms of safety, daytime running lamps, dual air bags and four-wheel ant i-lock brakes are standard. Traction control is standard in all but the GTP models, which adds it in1998.

Other noteworthy ’97 Grand Prix features include a 3-inch longer wheelbase for increased interior room and smoother ride; a head-up display in the windshield that provides a digital speedometer readout as well as a readout of radio stations when dialing up a new one; a rubber steering column strip to keep ignition keys from rattling on metal; and an optional ($120) integrated child safety seat with color-coded belt fasteners that show green if fastened properly, red if not.

Also: Door armrests and center console top are the same height so you can place an arm on each without leaning at an angle; programmable door locks open/close/stay locked when the gear lever is in park, delay locking for six seconds so you can retrieve coat or briefcase from the rear seat and refuse to lock if you exit the car with the key in the ignition; huge outside mirrors provide optimum visibility; an oil warning lamp signals the need for a change; an 18-gallon fuel tank, up by two gallons from the 1996 model, provides added driving range; and a massive trunk with strut hinges off to the sides means easy loading/unloading.

Gripes, other than those already noted, include a prop hood rather than spring (coming in 1998); the unkept look of door hinge bolts not painted the same color as the body; and a speedometer needle that blocks the numbers on the trip odometer.

The Grand Prix SE sedan (no coupe, and offered with only the optional 195-h.p., 3.8 engine at $400 until January when the base 3.1-liter, 160-h.p. V-6 becomes available) starts at $18,579, the GT coupe at $19,359, the GT sedan at $20,359. All include a $550 freight charge. To the GT coupe or sedan add $1,450 for the supercharged V-6, variable-effort steering, touring tires, deck-lid spoiler and trip computer that make it a GTP.

>> 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP sedan Wheelbase: 110.5 inches Length: 196.5 inches Engine: 3.8-liter, 240-h.p., supercharged V-6 Transmission: 4-speed automatic EPA mileage: 18 m.p.g. city/28 m.p.g. highway Base price: $20,359 for GT sedan, which includes $550 freight; add $1,450 for GTP package consisting of supercharged V-6, rear deck lid spoiler and trip computer. Price as tested: $23,980. Includes $250 for Head Up Display with digital readouts in the windshield for speed, radio station and turn indicators; $646 for power sunroof; $150 for remote keyless entry; and $575 for custom trim group consisting of leather-wrapped steering wheel, overhead console, trunk cargo net and 14-inch wide cargo pass through between rear seat and trunk. Pluses: Redesigned so wheelbase is 3 inches longer, length 1 inch longer, front track 2 inches wider and rear track 3 inches wider for improved ride and handling. Upgraded suspension system to optimize benefits of bigger dimensions. Variable-effort steering eliminates jerky movement and with new suspension reduces turning radius by 2 feet. 3.8-liter normally aspirated and supercharged V-6s with greater off-the-line torque replace 3.4-liter, V-6. Dual air bags, ABS, daytime running lamps standard. And host of detail improvements from increased rear seat headroom to 2.5-inch longer front seat track for taller drivers. Minuses: Traction control not available on supercharged models until 1998. Ram Air induction like that on Trans Am WS6 coming that provides at least 15-h.p. more plus a stylish hood bulge is coming soon but not at the outset of production. Styling rather subdued for a sports model. Speedometer needle blocks trip odometer so can’t read numbers. >>