Part of the GM A-Body platform, the 1973 Laguna series included coupes, sedans and station wagons.

NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough earned the first two of his three consecutive Winston Cup championships piloting a Chevelle Laguna.

On minor impact the urethane nose cone, backed up by shock-absorbing cylinders, deflected and rebounded; Laguna models also featured a specific diecast chrome grille with bowtie emblem, a body-colored (steel) rear bumper, front and rear bumper rub strips, bright roof drip moldings, bright wheel-opening moldings, chrome taillight bezels, full wheel covers, and Laguna fender nameplates.

The wagons, available in six- or nine-passenger seating, featured a counterbalanced liftgate which allowed for easy entry and loading up to 85 cubic feet (2.4 m3).

Wheelbase dimensions were carried over from the second-generation 1968-1972 models, with a sporty 112 inches for coupes and 116 inches for sedans and station wagons on an all-new sturdier perimeter frame with increased front and rear suspension travel, larger, 8½ inch, rear axle, wider, six-inch, wheel rims, refined rear control arm bushings and new shock absorber locations, new body mounts and improved front suspension geometry.

[4] The left wheel was adjusted to have slightly more positive camber than the right which resulted in a more uniform and stable steering feel on high-crown road surfaces while maintaining excellent freeway cruising stability.

Additional new features were an acoustical double-panel roof, tighter-fitting glass, flush-style outside door handles, molded full foam front- and rear-seat construction, a flow-through power ventilation system, an inside hood release, a refined Delcotron generator and a sealed side-terminal battery, a larger, 22 gallon, fuel tank, and "flush and dry" rocker panels introduced first on the redesigned 1971 full-size Chevrolets.

Options included swiveling Strato-bucket seats (with console) for coupes, a power moonroof, and Turbine I urethane (backed by steel) wheels, as was the instrument gauge cluster.

Car and Driver said: "Directional stability is so strong on the highway that the Laguna seems locked on some guidance-beam radiated from your destination."

It retained the urethane front end from 1973 with a revised grille and new parking lamps, augmented at the rear by new taillights.

Standard equipment included a console, a vinyl roof, opera-type vertical rear quarter windows which could be covered with horizontal ribs; body side striping, Laguna S3 badging, as well as firmer shocks and springs, a front stabilizer bar, and HR70x15 radial tires on Rally wheels.

Front occupants rode in swivel bucket seats, and the driver faced a six-dial instrument cluster and a four-spoke, sport steering wheel.

Production totaled 15,792 cars, with prices starting at $3,723 - and plenty of options to send the bottom line past $5,000.

This time, it had a slanted, urethane-covered aero-style nose designed for NASCAR (which later resurfaced again in 1983 with the Monte Carlo SS) and louvered opera windows.

The vinyl half-roof, swiveling Strato-bucket front seats with center console, as well as the four-spoke sport steering were no longer standard S-3 equipment, and were made optional in mid-1974 to reduce the car's base price.

In its third and final year, the 1976 Laguna Type S-3 again featured a sloped, body-color urethane front end and quarter-window louvers, but with new rear styling and horizontal taillights shared with other Chevelles.

Lagunas shared their round-gauge instrument panel with the personal-luxury Monte Carlo; Malibu models made do with a more conventional dashboard and a linear-readout speedometer.

Junior Johnson's team, with driver Cale Yarborough, won 34 races and earned the first two of three consecutive Winston Cup championships.

Considered a limited edition "aero" model by NASCAR, the Laguna S-3 was made ineligible for competition following the 1977 season.

[citation needed] Motor Trend said in 1973: "While neither Chevrolet or Pontiac are back in racing, the new crop intermediates out of GM's styling studios are curiously aerodynamic.

May 10, 1975: Music City USA 420-Darrell Waltrip racks up his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National victory in his No.

Yarborough was running at the finish in all 30 NASCAR Winston Cup races as he dominated the 1977 season to wrap up his second consecutive title.

[8] Third generation Chevelle NASCAR Winston Cup victories: Date Track Race Winner Car Speed (73-77 seasons)