Minneapolis Street Sighting: Pontiac Grand Prix SE Richard Petty Edition

I realize that most newer GM cars aren't exactly rare per se, but there are rare variations of this relatively common platform. I've seen quite a few, but this is only the third W-Body I've blogged, and there's more in the pipeline. Like the Brickyard 400 Pace Car I shot, this mint W-body, too, is NASCAR themed.
NASCAR great Richard Petty, originally famous for driving Mopars, drove with Pontiac, too, for a fair bit of his career. To celebrate and honor his retirement in 1992, 1000 Grand Prix SEs were branded "Richard Petty Edition". Like most GM "special editions", this car was a paint and trim deal as well. Aside from the signature graphics, badging, and paint color, everything else was standard Grand Prix SE. Heck, even some of these 1000 RPEs were base models, right down to the lack of a tachometer, and in some cases, cassette player. However, no matter how the car was or was not optioned, each owner received a "Thank You" letter from Petty which included the car number and what sequence it came off the assembly line.
This example of quite the rare breed was extremely flawless, right down to the crooked hand-applied decal on the trunk. The paint was in amazing shape. I know I've seen this color before, but it was applied to other GM vehicles. The blue painted crosslaces are a nice touch, but I'd almost call them "factory rice". While rare as hens' teeth, the paint looks awfully tacky, but I guess what else can you do in 1992? You certainly can't add wheel decals. I didn't peek inside for fear of being labeled suspicious, so I can't confirm how base or loaded this example is.
Less than 1000 were made, and there are no official counts of how many of each color (red, white and blue) were made. It's entirely possible that this spotting was a one in a lifetime deal. Since this RPE has dealer plate, I can only hope it goes to someone who will appreciate this car for what it is; a collectible piece of GM, and Richard Petty history.