The Pontiac Safari, like its corporate cousin the Chevrolet Nomad, had its origins with the 1954 Motorama Nomad, which was a fantasy Corvette-based two-door station wagon. While the Motorama Nomad was never intended for production, it was teased in order to whet the public’s appetite for something more than the four-door family haulers that were the standard station wagon offerings up to then.

Both the Safari and the Nomad were envisioned as a marriage between the good looks of a pillarless hardtop and the utility of a station wagon. As such, both models shared their front doors with the two-door hardtop in each division. Also like the Nomad, the Safari was the most expensive body style available in its division, outpricing both the Chieftain 870 four-door station wagon and the Star Chief convertible. That pricing premium, along with a late introduction, probably explains why the Safari was also the lowest-production Pontiac for 1955, with only 3,760 examples produced.