Pontiac GTO
Encyclopedia
The Pontiac GTO is an automobile
built by Pontiac
Division of General Motors
in the United States
from 1964 to 1974, and by GM subsidiary Holden
in Australia
from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, and now classic muscle car
of the 1960s and 1970s. From 1964 until midway through 1973 it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest
/LeMans
and for the 1974 model year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura
. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left-hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a coupe
variant of the Holden Commodore.
. At the time, Pontiac's advertising and marketing approach was heavily based on performance, and racing was an important component of that strategy. With GM's ban on factory-sponsored racing, Pontiac's young, visionary management turned its attention to emphasizing street performance.
In his autobiography “Glory Days,” Pontiac chief marketing manager Jim Wangers, who worked for the division’s contract advertising and public relations agency, states that John DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee were indeed responsible for the GTO's creation. It involved transforming the upcoming redesigned Tempest (which was set to revert to a conventional front-engine, front transmission, rear-wheel drive configuration) into a "Super Tempest" with the larger 389 CID Pontiac V8 engine
from the full-sized Pontiac Catalina
and Bonneville
in place of the standard 326 CID Tempest V8
. By promoting the big-engine Tempest as a special high-performance model, they could appeal to the speed-minded youth market (which had also been recognized by Ford Motor Company
's Lee Iacocca
, who was at that time preparing the Ford Mustang
).
The name, which was DeLorean's idea, was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO
, the successful race car. It is an Italian
abbreviation
for Gran Turismo Omologato, (exact translation is Grand Tourer Homologated
) which means officially certified for racing in the Grand tourer
class. The name drew protest from purists, who considered it close to sacrilege.
The GTO was basically a violation of GM policy limiting the A-body
intermediate
line to a maximum engine displacement of 330 CID. Since the GTO was an option package and not standard equipment, it could be considered to fall into a loophole in the policy. Pontiac General Manager Elliot "Pete" Estes
approved the new model, although sales manager Frank Bridge, who did not believe it would find a market, insisted on limiting initial production to no more than 5,000 cars. Had the model been a failure, Estes likely would have been reprimanded. As it turned out, it was a great success.
, available with the two-door coupe, hardtop
coupe
, and convertible
body styles. Despite rumors, Pontiac never built a GTO station wagon on its assembly lines. The US$
296, package included a 389 CID V8
rated at 325 bhp at 4800 rpm
) with a single Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor
and dual exhaust, chromed
valve covers and air cleaner, 7 blade clutch fan
, a floor-shifted three-speed manual transmission
with Hurst
shifter, stiffer springs, larger diameter front sway bar
, wider wheels with 7.50 × 14 redline tires, hood scoop
s, and GTO badges. Optional equipment included a four-speed manual, Super Turbine 300
two-speed automatic transmission
, a more powerful "Tri-Power" carburation rated at 348 bhp, metallic drum brake
linings, limited slip differential
, heavy-duty cooling, ride and handling package, and the usual array of power and convenience accessories. With every available option, the GTO cost about US$
4,500 and weighed around 3500 lb (1,587.6 kg). A tachometer was optional, and was placed in the far right dial on the dash.
Most contemporary road tests used the more powerful Tri-Power engine and four-speed. Car Life clocked a GTO so equipped at 0–60 miles per hour (0–97 km/h) in 6.6
seconds, through the standing quarter mile in 14.8 seconds with a quarter mile trap speed of 99 mph (44.3 m/s). Like most testers, they criticized the slow steering, particularly without power steering
, and inadequate drum brakes, which were identical to those of the normal Tempest. Car and Driver
incited controversy when it printed that a GTO that had supposedly been tuned with the "Bobcat" kit offered by Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac of Royal Oak, Michigan
, was clocked at a quarter mile time of 12.8 seconds and a trap speed of 112 mph (50.1 m/s) on racing slicks
. Later reports strongly suggest that the Car and Driver GTOs were equipped with a 421 CID engine that was optional in full-sized Pontiacs. Since the two engines were difficult to distinguish externally, the subterfuge was not immediately obvious. In Jim Wanger's "Glory Days" he admitted after three decades of denial that the red drag strip GTO had its engine swapped to a 421 Bobcat unit. Since the car was damaged during the testing, and Wangers did not want anyone looking under the hood, he used the blue road course GTO to flat tow the red GTO 1500 miles back to Detroit. Frank Bridge's sales forecast proved inaccurate: the GTO package had sold 10,000 units before the beginning of the 1964 calendar year, and total sales were 32,450.
, Michigan, offered a special tune-up package for Pontiac 389 engines. Many were fitted to GTOs, and the components and instructions could be purchased by mail as well as installed by the dealer. The name "Bobcat" came from the improvised badges created for the modified cars, combining letters from the "Bonneville" and "Catalina" nameplates. Many of the Pontiacs made available for magazine testing were equipped with the Bobcat kit. The GTO Bobcat accelerated 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds (this 0-60 time is now equalled by the factory 2005-06 GTO with automatic transmission, fuel injection, and no modifications).
The precise components of the kit varied but generally included pieces to modify the spark advance of the distributor
, limiting spark advance to 34-36° at no more than 3,000 rpm (advancing the timing at high rpm for increased power), a thinner head gasket
to raise compression to about 11.23:1, a gasket
to block the heat riser of the carburetor (keeping it cooler), larger carburetor jets, high-capacity oil pump
, and fiberglass
shims with lock nuts to hold the hydraulic valve lifters at their maximum point of adjustment, allowing the engine to rev higher without "floating" the valves. Properly installed, the kit could add between 30 and 50 horsepower (20-40 kW), although it required high-octane
superpremium gasoline
of over 100 octane to avoid spark knock with the higher compression and advanced timing.
The Tempest line, including the GTO, was restyled for the 1965 model year, adding 3.1 inches (79 mm) to the overall length while retaining the same wheelbase
and interior dimensions. It sported Pontiac's characteristic vertically stacked quad headlights. Overall weight increased about 100 pounds (45 kg). Brake lining area increased nearly 15%. The dashboard design was improved, and an optional rally gauge cluster ($86.08) added a more legible tachometer
and oil pressure gauge.
The 389 engine had revised cylinder heads with re-cored intake passages, improving breathing. Rated power increased to 335 hp at 5,000 rpm for the base 4—barrel engine; the Tri-Power was rated 360 hp at 5,200 rpm. The Tri-Power engine had slightly less torque than the base engine 424 lbft at 3,600 rpm versus 431 lbft at 3,200 rpm. Transmission and axle ratio choices remained the same.
The restyled GTO had a new simulated hood scoop. A rare, dealer-installed option was a metal underhood pan and gaskets that allowed the scoop to be opened, transforming a cosmetic device into a functional cold air intake
. The scoop was low enough that its effectiveness was questionable (it was unlikely to pick up anything but boundary layer
air), but it at least admitted cooler, denser air, and allowed more of the engine's formidable roar to escape.
Car Life tested a 1965 GTO with Tri-Power and what they considered the most desirable
options (close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, power steering, metallic brakes, rally
wheels, 4.11 limited-slip differential, and Rally Gauge Cluster), with a total sticker price
of US$
3,643.79. With two testers and equipment aboard, they
recorded 0–60 miles per hour (0–97 km/h) in 5.8 seconds, the standing quarter mile
in 14.5 seconds with a trap speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), and an
observed top speed of 114 miles per hour (182.4 km/h) at the engine's
6,000 rpm redline
. Even Motor Trend
s four-barrel test car, a heavier
convertible handicapped by the two-speed automatic transmission and the lack of a limited
slip differential, ran 0-60 mph in 7 seconds and through the quarter mile in 16.1
seconds at 89 miles per hour (142.4 km/h).
Major criticisms of the GTO continued to center on its slow steering (ratio of 17.5:1, four
turns lock-to-lock) and mediocre brakes. Car Life was satisfied with the metallic brakes
on its GTO, but Motor Trend and Road Test found the
standard drums with organic linings to be alarmingly inadequate in high-speed driving.
Sales of the GTO, abetted by a formidable marketing and promotional campaign that included
songs and various merchandise, more than doubled to 75,342. It was already spawning many
imitators, both within other GM divisions and its competitors.
, and a slightly "tunneled" backlight. The tail light featured a rare louvered cover, only seen on the GTO. Overall length grew only fractionally, to 206.4 inches (524 cm), still on a 115 inch (292 cm) wheelbase, while width expanded to 74.4 inches (189 cm). Rear track increased one inch (2.5 cm). Overall weight remained about the same. The GTO became a separate model series, rather than an optional performance package
, with unique grille and tail lights, available as a pillared sports coupe, a hardtop
sans pillars, or a convertible
. Also an automotive industry first, plastic front grilles replaced the pot metal
and aluminum versions seen on earlier years. New Strato bucket seat
s were introduced with higher and thinner seat backs and contoured cushions for added comfort and adjustable headrests were introduced as a new option. The instrument panel was redesigned and more integrated than in previous years with the ignition switch moved from the far left of the dash to the right of the steering wheel. Four pod instruments continued, and the GTO's dash was highlighted by walnut veneer trim.
Engine choices remained the same as the previous year. A new rare engine option was offered: the XS engine option consisted of a factory Ram Air set up with a new 744 high lift cam
. Approximately 35 factory installed Ram Air packages are believed to have been built, though 300 dealership installed Ram Air packages are estimated to have been ordered. On paper, the package was said to produce the same 360 hp as the non-Ram Air, Tri Power car, though these figures are believed to have been grossly underestimated in order to get past GM mandates.
Sales increased to 96,946, the highest production figure for all GTO years. Although Pontiac had strenuously promoted the GTO in advertising as the "GTO Tiger," it had become known in the youth market as the "Goat." Pontiac management attempted to make use of the new nickname
in advertising but were vetoed by upper management, which was dismayed by its irreverent tone.
The 1967 GTO came in three body styles:
The GTO also saw several mechanical changes in 1967. The Tri-Power carburetion system was replaced with a Rochester Quadrajet
four-barrel carburetor
. The 389 engine received a wider cylinder bore (4.12 inches, 104.7 mm) for a total displacement of 400 CID (6.6 L) V8
. The 400 cubic inch engine was available in three models: economy, standard, and high output. The economy engine used a two-barrel carburetor rather than the Rochester Quadrajet
and produced 255 bhp at 4400 rpm, and 397 ft.lbf at 4400 rpm. The standard engine produced 335 bhp at 5000 rpm, and the highest torque
of the three engines at 441 ft.lbf at 3400 rpm. The high output engine produced the most power for that year at 360 bhp at 5100 rpm, and produced 438 ft.lbf at 3600 rpm. Emission controls
were fitted in GTOs sold in California
.
1967 also saw the installation of significant safety equipment as required by federal law. A new energy-absorbing steering column was accompanied by an energy-absorbing steering wheel, padded instrument panel, non-protruding control knobs, and four-way emergency flashers.
The two-speed automatic transmission was also replaced with a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic
TH-400. The TH-400 was equipped with a Hurst Performance
Dual-Gate shifter, called a "his/hers" shifter, that permitted either automatic shifting in "Drive" or manual selection through the gears. Front disc brake
s were also an option in 1967.
GTO sales for 1967 remained high at 81,722.
GM redesigned its A-body
line for 1968, with more curvaceous, semi-fastback styling. The previous 115 inch (292 cm) wheelbase was shortened to 112 inches (284 cm) for all two-door models. Overall length was reduced 5.9 inches (150 mm) and height dropped half an inch (12 mm), but overall weight was up about 75 pounds (34 kg). Pontiac abandoned the familiar vertically stacked headlights in favor of a horizontal layout, but made hidden headlights available at extra cost. The concealed headlights were a popular option. The signature hood scoop was replaced by dual scoops on either side of a prominent hood bulge extending rearward from the protruding nose.
A unique feature was the body-color Endura front bumper. It was designed to absorb impact without permanent deformation at low speeds. Pontiac touted this feature heavily in advertising, showing hammering at the bumper to no discernible effect. Though a rare option, a GTO could be ordered with "Endura Delete", in which case the Endura bumper would be replaced by a chrome front bumper and grille from the Pontiac Le Mans. This model year further emphasized the curvacious "coke bottle" styling.
Powertrain options remained substantially the same as in 1967, but the standard GTO engine's power rating rose to 350 hp at 5,000 rpm. At mid-year, a new Ram Air package, known as Ram Air II, became available. It included freer-breathing cylinder heads, round port exhaust and the 041 cam. 'Official' power rating was not changed, although actual output was likely much higher. Another carry-over from 1967 was the 4-piston caliper disc brake option. While most 1968 models had drum brakes all around, this rare option provided greater stopping power and could be found on other GM A-Body vehicles of the same period. 1968 was also the last year the GTOs offered separate vent, or "wing", windows—and the only year for crank-operated vent windows.
Another feature was concealed windshield wipers, hidden below the rear edge of the hood. They presented a cleaner appearance and were a North American first, following British Leyland's earlier debut on Austin and Triumph models. Another popular option, actually introduced during the 1967 model year, was a hood-mounted tachometer, located in front of the windshield and lighted for visibility at night. An in-dash tachometer was also available.
Redline bias-ply tires continued as standard equipment on the 1968 GTO, though they could be replaced by whitewall tire
s at no extra cost. A new option was radial tire
s for improved ride and handling. However, very few were delivered with the radial tires because of manufacturing problems encountered by supplier B.F. Goodrich
. The radial tire option was discontinued after 1968. Pontiac did not offer radial tires as a factory option on the GTO again until the 1974 model.
Hot Rod tested a four-speed GTO equipped with the standard engine and obtained a quarter mile reading of 14.7 seconds at 97 mi/h in pure stock form. Motor Trend clocked a four-speed Ram Air with 4.33 rear differential at 14.45 seconds at 98.2 mi/h and a standard GTO with Turbo-Hydramatic and a 3.23 rear axle ratio at 15.93 seconds at 88.3 mi/h. Testers were split about handling, with Hot Rod calling it "the best-balanced car [Pontiac] ever built," but Car Life chiding its excessive nose heaviness, understeer, and inadequate damping.
Like all 1968 passenger vehicles sold in the United States, GTOs now featured front outboard shoulder belts (cars built after January 1, 1968) and side marker lights.
Now facing serious competition both within GM and from Ford
, Dodge
, and Plymouth
—particularly the low-cost Plymouth Road Runner
—the GTO won Motor Trends Car of the Year award
, and sales remained strong at 87,684 (which would ultimately prove to be the second-best sales year for the GTO).
The previous economy engine and standard 350 hp 400 CID V8
remained, while the 360 hp 400HO was upgraded to the Ram Air III, rated at 366 hp at 5,100 rpm. The top option was the 370 hp Ram Air IV, which featured special header-like high-flow exhaust manifold
s, high-flow cylinder heads, a specific high-rise aluminum intake manifold, larger Rochester QuadraJet four-barrel carburetor, high-lift/long-duration camshaft, plus various internal components capable of withstanding higher engine speeds and power output. Unlike the big-block Chevy
and Hemi
motors, the Ram Air IV utilized hydraulic lifters.
By this time, the gross power ratings of both Ram Air engines were highly suspect, bearing
less relationship to developed power and more to an internal GM policy limiting all
cars except the Corvette to no more than one advertised horsepower per 10 lb (4.5 kg) of curb
weight. The higher-revving Ram Air IV's advertised power peak was actually listed at
5,000 rpm—100 rpm lower than the less-powerful Ram Air III.
The Ram Air V was introduced in 1969. It was a special 400 block with newly designed high compression tunnel port heads and a special high rise intake manifold. A prototype GTO so equipped could go 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds, and the quarter-mile time was 11.5 seconds at 123 mph (198 km/h). Ram Air Vs were not installed in GTOs at the factory; it was available only as an "over-the-counter" product, and most went to Pontiac racers of the time.
The most significant event of 1969 for the GTO was the launch of a new model called 'The Judge'. The Judge name came from a comedy routine, "Here Come de Judge", used repeatedly on the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV show. The Judge routine, made popular by legendary showman Sammy Davis, Jr.
was borrowed from the act of long-time Burlesque entertainer Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham
. Advertisements used slogans like "All rise for The Judge" and "The Judge can be bought." As originally conceived, the Judge was to be a low-cost GTO, stripped of some gimmicks to make it competitive with the Plymouth Road Runner
. During its development, however, it was decided to make it the ultimate in street performance and image. The resulting package ended up being US$
332 more expensive than a standard GTO, and included the Ram Air III engine, Rally II wheels without trim rings, Hurst shifter (with a unique T-shaped handle), wider tires, various decals, and a rear spoiler.
Pontiac claimed that the spoiler had some functional effect at higher speeds, producing a small but measurable down force, but it was of little value at legal speeds except for style. The Judge was initially offered only in "Carousel Red," but late in the model year a variety of other colors became available.
The GTO was surpassed in sales both by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS396
and the Plymouth Road Runner
, but 72,287 were sold during the 1969 model year, with 6,833 of them being The Judge. The rarest GTO was the Ram Air IV Judge convertible - only five were built (Year One catalog).
The Tempest line received another facelift for the 1970 model year. Hidden headlights were deleted in favor of four exposed round headlamps outboard of narrower grille openings. The nose retained the protruding vertical prow theme, although it was less prominent. While the standard Tempest and LeMans had chrome grilles, the GTO retained the Endura urethane cover around the headlamps and grille.
The suspension was upgraded with the addition of a rear anti-roll bar, essentially the same bar as used on the Oldsmobile 442
and Buick Gran Sport
. The front anti-roll bar was slightly stiffer. The result was a useful reduction in body lean in turns and a modest reduction of understeer
.
Another handling-related improvement was optional variable-ratio power steering
. Rather than a fixed ratio of 17.5:1, requiring four turns lock-to-lock, the new system varied its ratio from 14.6:1 to 18.9:1, needing 3.5 turns lock-to-lock. Turning diameter was reduced from 40.9 feet (12.5 m) to 37.4 feet (11.4 m).
The base engine was unchanged for 1970, but the low-compression economy engine was deleted and the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV remained available, although the latter was now a special-order option.
A new option was Pontiac's 455 HO engine (different from the round-port offerings of the 1971-72 cars), available now that GM had rescinded its earlier ban on intermediates with engines larger than 400. The 455, a long-stroke engine also available in the full-size Pontiac line as well as the Grand Prix, was dubiously rated by Pontiac as only moderately stronger than the base 350 HP 400 cu. in. and less powerful than the 366 hp Ram Air III. Curiously, per the Pontiac brochure of the time, the same spec 455 installed in the Grand Prix model was rated at 370 hp. The camshafts used in the Ram Air III and the GTO 455 HO were the same. For example the manual transmission 455 HO's used the same 288/302 duration cam as the Ram air III. The 455 was rated at 360 hp at 4,300 rpm. Its advantage was torque: 500 lbft at 2,700 rpm. A functional Ram Air scoop was available. Car and Driver tested a heavily optioned 455, with a four-speed transmission and 3.31 axle and recorded a quarter mile time of 15.0 seconds with a trap speed of 96.5 mi/h . Car Lifes Turbo-Hydramatic 455, with a 3.35 rear differential, clocked 14.76 seconds at 95.94 mi/h, with identical 6.6 second 0-60 mph acceleration. Both were about 3 mi/h slower than a Ram Air III 400 four-speed, although considerably less temperamental: the Ram Air engine idled roughly and was difficult to drive at low speeds. The smaller displacement engine recorded less than 9 miles per US gallon of gasoline, compared to 10 miles per US gallon-11 miles per US gallon for the 455.
A new and short-lived option for 1970 was the Vacuum Operated Exhaust (VOE), which was vacuum actuated via an underdash lever marked "EXHAUST." The VOE was designed to reduce exhaust backpressure to increase power and performance, but it also substantially increased exhaust noise. The VOE option was offered from November 1969 to January 1970. Pontiac management was ordered to cancel the VOE option by GM's upper management following a TV commercial for the GTO that aired during Super Bowl IV
on CBS
January 11, 1970. In that commercial, entitled "The Humbler," which was broadcast only that one time, a young man pulled up in a new GTO to a drive-in restaurant with dramatic music and exhaust noise in the background, pulling the "EXHAUST" knob to activate the VOE and then left the drive-in to do some street racing. That particular commercial was also cancelled by order of GM management. Approximately 233 1970 GTOs were factory built with this rare option including 212 hardtop coupes and 21 convertbiles, all were "YS" 400ci 350 hp/with either four-speed manual or Turbo Hydra-matic transmissions. This particular GTO in the commercial was Palladium Silver with a Black bucket interior. It was unusual in several respects as it also had the under-dash "RAM AIR" knob just to the right of the VOE knob, and it sported '69 JUDGE stripes, as a few very-early '70 GTOs could be ordered with. It also had a Turbo Hydra-matic transmission, remote mirror, Rally II wheels, A/C, Hood Tach, and a new-for-1970 Formula steering wheel. A few 'VOE' mufflers were "Hand-made" for the remaining cars; this occurred in 2006 and 2007, and they are now available from Waldron Antique Exhaust.
The Judge remained available as an option on GTOs. The Judge came standard with the Ram Air III, while the Ram Air IV was optional. Though the 455 CID was available as an option on the standard GTO throughout the entire model year, the 455 was not offered on The Judge until late in the year. "Orbit Orange" became the new standard color for the '70 Judge, but any GTO color was available on The Judge. Striping was relocated to the upper wheelwell brows.
An Orbit Orange 1970 GTO with the 455 engine and Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission was one of the featured cars in the movie Two-Lane Blacktop
, which depicted a cross-country race between the new GTO and a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
. The car, owned by the studio, was not depicted as a Judge; however, in reality it WAS a RAIV powered Judge. They mentioned the 455 engine as it projected a more powerful offering to the public.
The new styling did little to help declining sales, which were now being hit by sagging buyer interest in all musclecars and by the punitive surcharges levied by automobile insurance companies, which sometimes resulted in insurance payments higher than car payments for some drivers. Sales were down to 40,149, of which 3,797 were The Judge. Of those 3,797 Judges built, only 168 were ordered in the Convertible form: RA III, RA IV and 455HO. The general consensus is that six of the 168 built were ordered with the 1970-only D-Port 455HO 360 hp engine, a no-cost option, which explains the conflicting production figures over the years as to how many were built; 162 vs. 168. The '69/'70 'Round-Port' RA IV engine, a derivative of the '68½ 'Round-Port' RA II engine, was the most exotic high-performance engine ever offered by PMD and factory-installed in a GTO or Firebird. The 1969 version had a slight advantage as the compression ratio was at 10:75:1 as opposed to 10.5:1 in 1970. It is widely known that PMD was losing $1,000 on every RA IV GTO and Firebird built, and the RA IV engine was highly under-rated at 370 hp. Overall, only a precious 37 RA IV GTO Convertibles were built in 1970: (24) 4-Speeds and only (13) automatics. Of the (13) '70 GTO RA IV/Auto Convertibles built only a precious six (6) received the Judge option. One of those, a #'s-Matching Atoll Blue/Blue/White top example was bid to $240K @ the May 2009 Mecum Auctions in Marengo, Illinois, and did NOT sell. Th low bid was attributed to the stagnant economy, and that particular car is documented back to the original owner in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The three-speed manual, nor A/C, was not available with the RA IV engine, and the standard axle ratio was 3.90, with the 4.33 being a low-cost option. The GTO remained the third best-selling intermediate muscle car, out-sold only by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396/454 and Plymouth Road Runner.
The 1971 GTO had another modest facelift, this time with wire-mesh grilles, horizontal bumper bars on either side of the grille opening, more closely spaced headlamps, and a new hood with the dual scoops relocated to the leading edge, not far above the grille. Overall length grew slightly to 203.3 inches (516 cm).
A new corporate edict, aimed at preparing GM for no-lead
gasoline, forced an across-the-board reduction in compression ratios. The Ram Air engines did not return for 1971. The standard GTO engine was still the 400 CID V8, but now with 8.2:1 compression. Power was rated at 300 hp SAE gross at 4,800 rpm and torque at 400 lbft at 3,600 rpm. It had 255 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the GTO and 250 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the Firebird.
An engine option was the 455 CID V8 with four-barrel carburetor, 8.4 to 1 compression ratio and 325 hp (242 kW) at 4,400 rpm, which was only available with the Turbo Hydra-matic TH-400 transmission. It had 260 hp SAE net at 4,000 rpm in the GTO and 255 hp SAE net in the Firebird. This engine was not available with air induction.
The top GTO engine for 1971 was the new 455 HO with 8.4 compression, rated at 335 hp at 4,800 rpm and 480 lbft at 3,600 rpm. It had 310 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the GTO and 305 hp SAE net in the Firebird Trans Am or Formula 455 with air induction. The 1971 Pontiac brochure declared that this engine produced more NET horsepower than any other engine in its history. That would imply the 400 CID V8 Ram Air engines had less than 310 hp net. While rated at 335 hp gross, in order to suggest it had less power than it did, you could say it should have been rated at 375 hp gross to compare with other Pontiac engines. This engine had more NET horsepower than the 1970 455 CID V8 GTO, which was essentially the regular engine found in other Pontiacs with a GTO exhaust system, and was continued in 1971 as the second option above.
For 1971,the standard rear-end was an open 10 bolt. Posi-traction 10 bolt rear ends were available as an option on 400 CI engine equipped GTO's, while all 455 CI GTO's were available with a 12 bolt open or optional 12 bolt posi-traction rear-end.
Motor Trend tested a 1971 GTO with the 455, four-speed transmission, and 3.90 axle, and obtained a 0-60 mph time of 6.1 seconds and a quarter mile acceleration of 13.4 seconds at 102 mph (164 km/h).
The Judge returned for a final year, With the standard equipment being the Mountain Performance package was the 455 HO. Only 357 were sold before The Judge was discontinued in February 1971, including 17 convertibles today the rarest of all GTOs, aside from the 1969 Ram Air IV convertible. Only 10,532 GTOs were sold in 1971, 661 of which were non-Judge equipped convertibles.
s and rubber floor mats on the pillared coupe and carpeting on the hardtop, creating a lower-priced GTO. The LeMans Sport, offered only as a hardtop coupe, came with Strato bucket seats upholstered in vinyl, along with carpeting on floor and lower door panels, vinyl door-pull straps, custom pedal trim and cushioned steering wheel, much like GTOs of previous years. Other optional equipment was similar to 1971 and earlier models. Planned for 1972 as a GTO option was the ducktail rear spoiler from the Pontiac Firebird
, but after a few cars were built with that option, the mold used to produce the spoiler broke, and it was cancelled. Rally II and honeycomb wheels were optional on all GTOs, with the honeycombs now featuring red Pontiac arrowhead emblems on the center caps, while the Rally IIs continued with the same caps as before, with the letters "PMD" (for Pontiac Motor Division).
Power, now rated in SAE net hp terms, was down further, to 250 hp at 4,400 rpm and 325 lbft at 3,200 rpm torque for the base 400 engine. The optional 455 had the same rated power (although at a peak of 3,600 rpm), but substantially more torque. Most of the drop was attributable to the new rating system (which now reflected an engine in as-installed condition with mufflers, accessories, and standard intake). The engines were relatively little changed from 1971.
A very rare option was the 455 HO engine, essentially similar to that used in the Trans Am. It was rated at 300 hp at 4,000 rpm and 415 lbft at 3,200 rpm, also in the new SAE net figures. Despite its modest 8.4:1 compression, it was as strong as many earlier engines with higher gross power ratings; yet like all other 1972-model engines, it could perform on low-octane regular leaded, low-lead or unleaded gasolines. Only 646 cars with this engine were sold.
Sales plummeted by 45%, to 5,811. (Some sources discount the single convertible and the three anomalous wagons, listing the total as 5,807.) Although Pontiac did not offer a production GTO convertible in 1972, a buyer could order a LeMans Sport convertible with either of the three GTO engines and other sporty/performance options to create a GTO in all but name. Even the GTO's Endura bumper was offered as an option on LeMans/Sport models, with "PONTIAC" spelled out on the driver's side grille rather than "GTO."
Once again an option package for the LeMans, the 1973 GTO shared the reskinned A-body with its "Colonnade" hardtop styling, which eliminated true hardtop design because of the addition of a roof pillar but retention of frameless doorwork. Rear side windows were now of a fixed design that could not be opened and in a triangular shape. New federal laws for 1973 demanded front bumpers capable of withstanding 5-mile-per-hour (8 km/h)impacts with no damage to the body (5 mph rear bumpers became standard in 1974). The result was the use of prominent and heavy chrome bumpers front and rear. The overall styling of the 1973 Pontiac A-body intermediates (LeMans, Luxury LeMans, GTO and Grand Am
) was generally not well received by the car buying public.
In contrast, the Pontiac Grand Prix
and Chevrolet Monte Carlo
, which were also derived from the intermediate A-body, were much better received because of their squared-off styling and formal rooflines with vertical windows. Pontiac's sister division, Oldsmobile
, received better reviews from the automotive press and the car-buying public with the similar-bodied Cutlass
.
Again, the 1973 GTO option was offered on two models including the base LeMans coupe or the LeMans Sport Coupe. The base LeMans coupe featured a cloth-and-vinyl or all-vinyl bench seat while the more lavish LeMans Sport Coupe had all-vinyl interiors with Strato bucket seats or a notchback bench seat with folding armrest. The LeMans Sport Coupe also had louvered rear side windows from the Grand Am in place of the standard triangular windows of the base LeMans.
The standard 400 CID V8 in the 1973 GTO was further reduced in compression to 8.0:1, dropping it to 230 hp (170 kW). The 400 engine was available with any of the three transmissions including the standard three-speed manual, or optional four-speed or Turbo Hydra-Matic. The 455 CID V8 remained optional but was dropped to 250 hp (186 kW) and available only with the Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission. The 455 HO engine did not reappear, but GM initially announced the availability of a Super Duty 455 engine (shared with the contemporary Pontiac Trans Am SD455), and several such cars were made available for testing, impressing reviewers with their power and flexibility. Nevertheless, the Super Duty was never actually offered for public sale in the GTO. Also, eight 455SD Grand Ams were also built for testing and eventually all were destroyed as well.
Sales dropped to 4,806, due in part to competition from the new Grand Am and the lack of promotion for the GTO. By the end of the model year an emerging energy crisis
quashed consumer interest in muscle cars.
, and looking for an entry into the compact muscle market populated by the Plymouth Duster 360
, Ford Maverick Grabber
and AMC Hornet X
, Pontiac moved the 1974 GTO option to the compact Pontiac Ventura
, which shared its basic body shell and sheetmetal with the Chevrolet Nova
. Critics dubbed it "a Chevy Nova in drag."
The $461 GTO package (Code WW3) included a three-speed manual transmission with Hurst floor shifter, heavy-duty suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars, a shaker hood, special grille, mirrors, and wheels, and various GTO emblems. The only engine was the 350 CID (5.7 L) V8 with 7.6:1 compression and a single four-barrel carburetor. It was rated at 200 hp at 4,400 rpm and 295 lbft at 2,800 rpm. Optional transmissions included a wide-ratio four-speed with Hurst shifter for $207 (Code M20) or the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic. Power Steering was a $104 option (Code N41) as well as Power front disc brakes for $71 (Code JL2).
The GTO option was available in both the base Ventura and Ventura Custom lines as either a two-door sedan or hatchback
coupe
. The base Ventura interior consisted of bench seats and rubber floor mats, Bucket seats could be added for $132 (Code A51), while the Ventura Custom had upgraded bench seats or optional Strato bucket seats along with carpeting, cushioned steering wheel, and custom pedal trim.
Bias-belted tires were standard equipment, but a radial tuned suspension option added radial tires along with upgraded suspension tuning for improved ride and handling.
Cars Magazine tested a 1974 GTO with the optional four-speed and obtained a 0-60 mph time of 7.7 seconds and a quarter mile reading of 15.72 seconds at 88 mi/h .
Sales were an improvement over 1973, at 7,058, but not enough to justify continuing the model.
s on the 1975 Ventura line, though Pontiac V8s were continued in all other division models. GM management decided that the GTO must end its production run.
In 1975, an enterprising Pontiac dealer in the Eastern United States
reportedly decided to "create" a new GTO. Sensing that the 1974 GTO should have continued on the intermediate LeMans platform rather than downsized to the Ventura line, this dealer advertised and sold an undetermined number of 1975 Pontiac GTOs. These cars were factory-ordered by the dealer as LeMans Sport Coupes equipped with the 400 or 455 CID V8s with four-barrel carburetors, Turbo Hydra-Matic transmissions, Strato bucket seats and console, power steering, power disc brakes, Rally II or Honeycomb wheels, and Radial Tuned Suspension with whitewall or white-lettered radial tires. The dealer replaced the Pontiac and LeMans nameplates with "GTO" badges inside and out. This dealer-made 1975 GTO could be ordered with any LeMans exterior/interior combination along with any other extra-cost options available on the regular LeMans.
In 1976, Jim Wangers reportedly presented a LeMans Sport Coupe as a new GTO Judge prototype with a 400 CID V8 that was painted Carousel Red to Pontiac division officials as a possible GTO revival to supplement dramatic sales increases for the Firebird Trans Am (now accounting for 50% of Firebird sales) for those buyers who wanted a sporty performance car but needed a roomier back seat and larger trunk. However, division officials turned down the idea of an intermediate-sized GTO, but the concept was considered and approved for production; not as a GTO revival, but as the 1977 Pontiac Can Am
.
During the subsequent 30 years, Pontiac considered several plans to revive the GTO nameplate, but none came to fruition. In 1988, when Oldsmobile
planned to create a 442 based on the Cutlass Calais
, Pontiac built a prototype GTO based on the Grand Am, equipped with a Quad 4
engine. The revived 442, introduced for the 1990 model year, proved to be a low seller, leading Pontiac to quietly cancel the GTO revival.
Japan
ese automaker Mitsubishi
marketed a GTO
coupe, although it was sold in U.S. and Canada as the Mitsubishi 3000GT to avoid legal conflicts with Pontiac. Fans of the original GTO considered the appropriation of a famous muscle car by a Japanese automaker to be sacrilegious, much as sports car fans of the 1960s had been infuriated by Pontiac borrowing the name of the Ferrari racer.
, a GTO concept car
with a heritage-inspired "Coke-bottle" shape, grille, and hood scoop, was introduced to the world. It was only a design experiment and had no engine. The concept never made it into production, but created its own unique following at the time.
. It became Pontiac's first captive import
since the 1993 Pontiac LeMans. The Monaro is a 2-door coupe variant of the Australia
n developed VT/VX Holden Commodore
. The Commodore had, in turn, been developed by enlarging the Europe
an designed 1994 Opel Omega B, which was marketed in its original form in the U.S. from 1997 to 2001 as the Cadillac Catera
.
The revival was prompted by former GM North America Chairman Bob Lutz, who had the idea of importing a Holden Commodore-based vehicle after reading a Car and Driver review of the Holden Commodore SS, published circa 2000. Car and Driver praised the performance of the V8 powered, rear-wheel-drive Holden Commodore SS, but noted that even though it was one of the best vehicles that GM offered at the time, it could not be purchased in the United States. The idea of importing a rear-wheel-drive Holden as a GM North American performance offering gradually transformed into importing the Commodore-based Monaro. Lutz, as well as other GM executives, later drove a Holden Monaro while on a business trip in Australia, which convinced them that importing the car could be a profitable venture.
From promoting his initial idea to the time the GTO reached North America, Lutz had spent much time trying to convince other GM executives to import the car, and as well in overcoming the obstacles presented by the then-existent corporate culture that promoted regional autonomy between GM North America and its overseas divisions. This resulted in an "unnecessarily long gestation period," as Lutz put it, and the final product arrived much later in its design cycle and at a much higher cost than anticipated. The Monaro design had existed since 2001, but by 2004, it already looked dated when it was released in the United States. It was also originally targeted to sell in the US with an approximate $25,000 price. However, by the time the car was released, the Australian dollar's growth against the US dollar inflated the final price of the car to over $30,000. Both of these elements played a significant role in the car's lukewarm acceptance by the general public.
The GTO was assembled by GM's Holden
subsidiary in the suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia
. It was equipped with the LS1
('04 model year) or LS2
('05-'06 model years) V8 engines, with a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. Changes from the Australian-built Monaro included bracing additions to the body to meet US crash standards, a "corporate Pontiac" front facia, new badging, "GTO" stiching on the front seats, and a revised exhaust system. GM designers tried over 30 different exhaust configurations in an attempt to reproduce the exhaust tone of the original 1964 GTO. The 2004 GTO exhaust was a true dual system that followed the original Monaro exhaust routing, thus both tailpipes exited on the driver side of the vehicle. The Monaro was also exported to the United Kingdom
as the Vauxhall
Monaro and to the Middle East
as the Chevrolet Lumina
SS at the time. GM North America's deal with Holden was to produce a maximum of 18,000 vehicles per year starting in late 2003 and going through to the end of the 2006 model year. The 18,000 units was the production limit for the model at the Australian assembly plant.
Initially in 2004, the car was offered in several colors: Barbados Blue Metallic, Cosmos Purple Metallic, Quicksilver Metallic, Phantom Black Metallic, Impulse Blue Metallic, Torrid Red, and Yellow Jacket.
GM had high expectations to sell 18,000 units, but the Monaro-based GTO received a lukewarm reception in the U.S. The styling was frequently derided by critics as being too "conservative" and "anonymous" to befit either the GTO heritage or the current car's performance. In addition, the classic GTO faithful felt further insulted by GM's failure to present a U.S.-built car that incorporated any design lineage from the muscular icons of the 1960s and 1970s. Given the newly revived muscle car
climate, it was also overshadowed by the Chrysler 300
, the Dodge Charger
, Dodge Magnum
and the new Ford Mustang
, which all featured more traditional "muscle" aesthetics, even though the GTO outclassed them in performance. Critics also pointed out the car's high sale price, commenting that a lower price would have made the car's apparent faults far more forgivable. Sales were also limited because of dealer
tactics, such as initially charging large markups and denying requests for test drives of the vehicle. By the end of the year, the 2004 vehicles were selling with significant discounts. Sales were 13,569 of 15,728 cars for 2004.
To help squelch comments about the car's appearance, the hood scoops that originally were slated for production in 2005 were pushed into production as part of an over-the-counter Sport Appearance Package. The 2004 Sport Appearance Package also included a taller and more angular rear spoiler as well as deeper inset grilles.
Closing out the 2004 model year was the W40 package. Rumored to be a stillborn 40th anniversary package , it gave the buyer an exclusive paint color called Pulse Red, red GTO embroidery on the seats, and a grey colored gauge cluster. The last 794 of the 2004 model year GTOs were built with the W40 package.
The 2005 model year continued with the addition of standard hood scoops, split rear exhaust, and late in the year, optional 18 inch (45.7 cm) wheels. The major change for 2005 was the replacement of the LS1 engine with the LS2 engine. This 5967 cc engine increased power and torque in the GTO to 400 hp with 400 lbft torque. With this improved powerplant, Pontiac claimed the car capable of 0 to 60 mi/h in 4.7 seconds and a 13.0 second quarter mile at 105 mi/h (automatic transmission). Car and Driver
magazine tested the car at 4.6 seconds 0-60 mph and 13.0 seconds at 106 mi/h for the quarter mile, so the claims were justified. Dashboard gauge graphics were also revised. The optional dealer installed Sport Appearance Package became available and differed visually by having a different lower rear fascia that sported quad chrome exhaust tips, louder aggressive sounding mufflers, a modified spoiler, a modified front lower fascia extension, recessed grilles, and modified rocker panels. This package was available from GM as an accessory in red, silver, black, or primer for other color cars. Nonetheless, production was scaled back to 11,069, primarily because of a shortened model year. Barbados Blue and Cosmos Purple were dropped this year, but Cyclone Grey and Midnight Blue Metallic were added. Customers had the option to order their GTO without hood scoops, though only 24 were produced this way.
For 2006, two additional colors were added to the line up, Spice Red Metallic and Brazen Orange Metallic, while Midnight Blue Metallic and Yellow Jacket were dropped. Changes for 2006 included revised blacked-out tail lamps, illuminated steering wheel radio controls, faster moving power seat motors, and an interior power door lock switch. The climate control button for the A/C also had the word "Defog" added to it for the 2006 model year. Along with the 2005 model, the 2006 GTO was equipped with the 400 hp, 6.0 L engine.
On February 21, 2006, Buick-Pontiac-GMC General Manager John Larson announced to dealers that GM would halt imports of the GTO in September, making 2006 the last model year for the new GTO. He stated the main reason for the cease in production was the GTO's inability to meet new airbag deployment standards that were going into effect in 2007. This fate should have come as no surprise since this generation GTO was only intended as a limited production run for those 3 years from the beginning of the program.
The final production numbers of the 2006 Pontiac GTO are 13,948 cars, an increase from 11,069 from the previous model year.
The last Pontiac GTO, which was also the very last Monaro-based coupe produced, came off the assembly line in Australia on June 14, 2006. Total production for all three years was 40,808 vehicles.
Despite the lower than anticipated sales numbers and an unenthusiastic response by the American public, the new-age GTO has become a "sought after cult-car," with many loyal owners. Even though it was not a sales success, it was a vital lesson to GM that its regional divisions could not only work together, but that overseas divisions could engineer outstanding automobiles.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
built by Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
Division of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1964 to 1974, and by GM subsidiary Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, and now classic muscle car
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...
of the 1960s and 1970s. From 1964 until midway through 1973 it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest
Pontiac Tempest
The Pontiac Tempest was an entry-level compact produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, introduced in September 1960 for the 1961 model year....
/LeMans
Pontiac LeMans
The Pontiac LeMans was a model name applied to compact and intermediate-sized automobiles offered by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1962 to 1981. The LeMans was replaced by the downsized Pontiac Bonneville for the 1982 model year...
and for the 1974 model year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura
Pontiac Ventura
The Pontiac Ventura was an automobile produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors. The word "ventura" is a derivitave of the word "bonaventure" which is Italian for "good fortune". It also shares its name with the locations of Ventura, California and Ventura, Iowa...
. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left-hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
variant of the Holden Commodore.
Origins
The GTO was the brainchild of Pontiac engineer Russell Gee, an engine specialist; Bill Collins, a chassis engineer; and Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean. In early 1963, General Motors' management issued an edict banning divisions from involvement in auto racingAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
. At the time, Pontiac's advertising and marketing approach was heavily based on performance, and racing was an important component of that strategy. With GM's ban on factory-sponsored racing, Pontiac's young, visionary management turned its attention to emphasizing street performance.
In his autobiography “Glory Days,” Pontiac chief marketing manager Jim Wangers, who worked for the division’s contract advertising and public relations agency, states that John DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee were indeed responsible for the GTO's creation. It involved transforming the upcoming redesigned Tempest (which was set to revert to a conventional front-engine, front transmission, rear-wheel drive configuration) into a "Super Tempest" with the larger 389 CID Pontiac V8 engine
Pontiac V8 engine
Pontiac began as a adjunct to the Oakland division of the General Motors line of automobiles in 1926. Pontiac successfully competed against more expensive 4-cylinder models with their inline flathead 6 engines. After outselling Oakland, Pontiac became the sole survivor of the two by 1932. In...
from the full-sized Pontiac Catalina
Pontiac Catalina
The Pontiac Catalina was part of Pontiac's full-sized automobile line. Initially, the name was used strictly to denote hardtop body styles, first appearing in the 1950 Chieftain Eight and DeLuxe Eight lines...
and Bonneville
Pontiac Bonneville
The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...
in place of the standard 326 CID Tempest V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
. By promoting the big-engine Tempest as a special high-performance model, they could appeal to the speed-minded youth market (which had also been recognized by Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
, who was at that time preparing the Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
).
The name, which was DeLorean's idea, was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO
Ferrari 250 GTO
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a GT car which was produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category....
, the successful race car. It is an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
for Gran Turismo Omologato, (exact translation is Grand Tourer Homologated
Homologation (motorsport)
In motorsports, homologation is the approval process a vehicle, race track or standardised part must go through to race in a given league or series. The regulations and rules that must be met are generally set by the series' sanctioning body...
) which means officially certified for racing in the Grand tourer
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
class. The name drew protest from purists, who considered it close to sacrilege.
The GTO was basically a violation of GM policy limiting the A-body
GM A platform (RWD)
The General Motors A platform was a rear wheel drive automobile platform designation used from at least 1939 up until 1981...
intermediate
Mid-size car
A mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...
line to a maximum engine displacement of 330 CID. Since the GTO was an option package and not standard equipment, it could be considered to fall into a loophole in the policy. Pontiac General Manager Elliot "Pete" Estes
Pete Estes
Elliot Marantette "Pete" Estes was an American automotive engineer and executive, most known as being the fifteenth president of General Motors, from 1974 to 1981...
approved the new model, although sales manager Frank Bridge, who did not believe it would find a market, insisted on limiting initial production to no more than 5,000 cars. Had the model been a failure, Estes likely would have been reprimanded. As it turned out, it was a great success.
1964
The first Pontiac GTO was an option package for the Pontiac TempestPontiac Tempest
The Pontiac Tempest was an entry-level compact produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, introduced in September 1960 for the 1961 model year....
, available with the two-door coupe, hardtop
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
, and convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
body styles. Despite rumors, Pontiac never built a GTO station wagon on its assembly lines. The US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
296, package included a 389 CID V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
rated at 325 bhp at 4800 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
) with a single Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
and dual exhaust, chromed
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
valve covers and air cleaner, 7 blade clutch fan
Fan clutch
A fan clutch is a thermostatic device that exists as an integral component of certain automotive cooling systems. When the engine is cool or even at normal operating temperature, the fan clutch partially disengages the engine's mechanically-driven radiator cooling fan, generally located at the...
, a floor-shifted three-speed manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
with Hurst
Hurst Performance
Hurst Performance, Inc. of Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, manufactured and marketed products for enhancing the performance of automobiles, most notably for muscle cars.-Products:...
shifter, stiffer springs, larger diameter front sway bar
Sway bar
A sway bar or anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar is a part of an automobile suspension that helps reduce the roll of a vehicle that is induced by cornering or road irregularities. It connects opposite wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring...
, wider wheels with 7.50 × 14 redline tires, hood scoop
Hood scoop
A bonnet/hood scoop is an upraised component on the hood of an automobile that either allows a flow of air to directly enter the engine compartment, or appears to do so. It has only one opening and is closed on all other sides...
s, and GTO badges. Optional equipment included a four-speed manual, Super Turbine 300
Super Turbine 300
The Super Turbine 300 was a two-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors. It was used in various Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac models from 1964-1969...
two-speed automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
, a more powerful "Tri-Power" carburation rated at 348 bhp, metallic drum brake
Drum brake
A drum brake is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part called a brake drum....
linings, limited slip differential
Limited slip differential
A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
, heavy-duty cooling, ride and handling package, and the usual array of power and convenience accessories. With every available option, the GTO cost about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4,500 and weighed around 3500 lb (1,587.6 kg). A tachometer was optional, and was placed in the far right dial on the dash.
Most contemporary road tests used the more powerful Tri-Power engine and four-speed. Car Life clocked a GTO so equipped at 0–60 miles per hour (0–97 km/h) in 6.6
seconds, through the standing quarter mile in 14.8 seconds with a quarter mile trap speed of 99 mph (44.3 m/s). Like most testers, they criticized the slow steering, particularly without power steering
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
, and inadequate drum brakes, which were identical to those of the normal Tempest. Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
incited controversy when it printed that a GTO that had supposedly been tuned with the "Bobcat" kit offered by Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac of Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
, was clocked at a quarter mile time of 12.8 seconds and a trap speed of 112 mph (50.1 m/s) on racing slicks
Slick tire
A slick tyre is a type of tyre that has no tread pattern, used mostly in auto racing. The first production "slick tyre" was developed by a company called M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing...
. Later reports strongly suggest that the Car and Driver GTOs were equipped with a 421 CID engine that was optional in full-sized Pontiacs. Since the two engines were difficult to distinguish externally, the subterfuge was not immediately obvious. In Jim Wanger's "Glory Days" he admitted after three decades of denial that the red drag strip GTO had its engine swapped to a 421 Bobcat unit. Since the car was damaged during the testing, and Wangers did not want anyone looking under the hood, he used the blue road course GTO to flat tow the red GTO 1500 miles back to Detroit. Frank Bridge's sales forecast proved inaccurate: the GTO package had sold 10,000 units before the beginning of the 1964 calendar year, and total sales were 32,450.
Bobcat
Throughout the 1960s, Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac, a Pontiac car dealer in Royal OakRoyal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was located in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles confirmed to Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was...
, Michigan, offered a special tune-up package for Pontiac 389 engines. Many were fitted to GTOs, and the components and instructions could be purchased by mail as well as installed by the dealer. The name "Bobcat" came from the improvised badges created for the modified cars, combining letters from the "Bonneville" and "Catalina" nameplates. Many of the Pontiacs made available for magazine testing were equipped with the Bobcat kit. The GTO Bobcat accelerated 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds (this 0-60 time is now equalled by the factory 2005-06 GTO with automatic transmission, fuel injection, and no modifications).
The precise components of the kit varied but generally included pieces to modify the spark advance of the distributor
Distributor
A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...
, limiting spark advance to 34-36° at no more than 3,000 rpm (advancing the timing at high rpm for increased power), a thinner head gasket
Head gasket
A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in...
to raise compression to about 11.23:1, a gasket
Gasket
thumb|sright|250px|Some seals and gaskets1. [[o-ring]]2. fiber [[Washer |washer]]3. paper gaskets4. [[cylinder head]] [[head gasket|gasket]]...
to block the heat riser of the carburetor (keeping it cooler), larger carburetor jets, high-capacity oil pump
Oil pump (internal combustion engine)
The oil pump in an internal combustion engine circulates engine oil under pressure to the rotating bearings, the sliding pistons and the camshaft of the engine...
, and fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
shims with lock nuts to hold the hydraulic valve lifters at their maximum point of adjustment, allowing the engine to rev higher without "floating" the valves. Properly installed, the kit could add between 30 and 50 horsepower (20-40 kW), although it required high-octane
Octane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH36CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain...
superpremium gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
of over 100 octane to avoid spark knock with the higher compression and advanced timing.
1965
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
and interior dimensions. It sported Pontiac's characteristic vertically stacked quad headlights. Overall weight increased about 100 pounds (45 kg). Brake lining area increased nearly 15%. The dashboard design was improved, and an optional rally gauge cluster ($86.08) added a more legible tachometer
Tachometer
A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common...
and oil pressure gauge.
The 389 engine had revised cylinder heads with re-cored intake passages, improving breathing. Rated power increased to 335 hp at 5,000 rpm for the base 4—barrel engine; the Tri-Power was rated 360 hp at 5,200 rpm. The Tri-Power engine had slightly less torque than the base engine 424 lbft at 3,600 rpm versus 431 lbft at 3,200 rpm. Transmission and axle ratio choices remained the same.
The restyled GTO had a new simulated hood scoop. A rare, dealer-installed option was a metal underhood pan and gaskets that allowed the scoop to be opened, transforming a cosmetic device into a functional cold air intake
Cold air intake
A cold air intake is an aftermarket assembly of parts used to bring relatively cool air into a car's internal-combustion engine.Most vehicles manufactured since the mid-1970s have thermostatic air intake systems that regulate the temperature of the air entering the engine's intake tract, providing...
. The scoop was low enough that its effectiveness was questionable (it was unlikely to pick up anything but boundary layer
Boundary layer
In physics and fluid mechanics, a boundary layer is that layer of fluid in the immediate vicinity of a bounding surface where effects of viscosity of the fluid are considered in detail. In the Earth's atmosphere, the planetary boundary layer is the air layer near the ground affected by diurnal...
air), but it at least admitted cooler, denser air, and allowed more of the engine's formidable roar to escape.
Car Life tested a 1965 GTO with Tri-Power and what they considered the most desirable
options (close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, power steering, metallic brakes, rally
wheels, 4.11 limited-slip differential, and Rally Gauge Cluster), with a total sticker price
of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3,643.79. With two testers and equipment aboard, they
recorded 0–60 miles per hour (0–97 km/h) in 5.8 seconds, the standing quarter mile
in 14.5 seconds with a trap speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), and an
observed top speed of 114 miles per hour (182.4 km/h) at the engine's
6,000 rpm redline
Redline
Redline refers to the maximum engine speed at which an internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine...
. Even Motor Trend
Motor Trend
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...
s four-barrel test car, a heavier
convertible handicapped by the two-speed automatic transmission and the lack of a limited
slip differential, ran 0-60 mph in 7 seconds and through the quarter mile in 16.1
seconds at 89 miles per hour (142.4 km/h).
Major criticisms of the GTO continued to center on its slow steering (ratio of 17.5:1, four
turns lock-to-lock) and mediocre brakes. Car Life was satisfied with the metallic brakes
on its GTO, but Motor Trend and Road Test found the
standard drums with organic linings to be alarmingly inadequate in high-speed driving.
Sales of the GTO, abetted by a formidable marketing and promotional campaign that included
songs and various merchandise, more than doubled to 75,342. It was already spawning many
imitators, both within other GM divisions and its competitors.
1966
Pontiac's intermediate line was restyled again for 1966, gaining more curvaceous styling with kicked-up rear fender lines for a "Coke-bottle" lookCoke bottle styling
Coke bottle styling is a term used to describe any automotive body styling bearing an overall body shape resembling the classic glass Coca-Cola soft drink's contour bottle design. It is a style of automobile bodies with outward curving fenders with a narrow center. In contrast to "straight-edge"...
, and a slightly "tunneled" backlight. The tail light featured a rare louvered cover, only seen on the GTO. Overall length grew only fractionally, to 206.4 inches (524 cm), still on a 115 inch (292 cm) wheelbase, while width expanded to 74.4 inches (189 cm). Rear track increased one inch (2.5 cm). Overall weight remained about the same. The GTO became a separate model series, rather than an optional performance package
Performance package
A performance package is a set of functional enhancements to the driveline of a vehicle, sold and priced as a unit.This package may contain one or more of the following enhancements*Greater engine torque*Greater engine power...
, with unique grille and tail lights, available as a pillared sports coupe, a hardtop
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
sans pillars, or a convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
. Also an automotive industry first, plastic front grilles replaced the pot metal
Pot metal
Pot metal, also known as monkey metal, white metal or die-cast zinc, is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings....
and aluminum versions seen on earlier years. New Strato bucket seat
Bucket seat
A bucket seat is a seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from bench seats which are flat platforms designed to seat multiple people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns...
s were introduced with higher and thinner seat backs and contoured cushions for added comfort and adjustable headrests were introduced as a new option. The instrument panel was redesigned and more integrated than in previous years with the ignition switch moved from the far left of the dash to the right of the steering wheel. Four pod instruments continued, and the GTO's dash was highlighted by walnut veneer trim.
Engine choices remained the same as the previous year. A new rare engine option was offered: the XS engine option consisted of a factory Ram Air set up with a new 744 high lift cam
Cam
A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice-versa. It is often a part of a rotating wheel or shaft that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path...
. Approximately 35 factory installed Ram Air packages are believed to have been built, though 300 dealership installed Ram Air packages are estimated to have been ordered. On paper, the package was said to produce the same 360 hp as the non-Ram Air, Tri Power car, though these figures are believed to have been grossly underestimated in order to get past GM mandates.
Sales increased to 96,946, the highest production figure for all GTO years. Although Pontiac had strenuously promoted the GTO in advertising as the "GTO Tiger," it had become known in the youth market as the "Goat." Pontiac management attempted to make use of the new nickname
in advertising but were vetoed by upper management, which was dismayed by its irreverent tone.
1967
The GTO underwent a few styling changes in 1967. The louver-covered tail lights were replaced with eight tail lights, four on each side. Rally II wheels with colored lug nuts were also available in 1967. The GTO emblems located on the rear part of the fenders were moved to the chrome rocker panels. Also the grill was changed from a purely split grill, to one that shared some chrome.The 1967 GTO came in three body styles:
- Hardtop - 65,176 produced
- Convertible - 9,517 produced
- Sports Coupe - 7,029 produced
The GTO also saw several mechanical changes in 1967. The Tri-Power carburetion system was replaced with a Rochester Quadrajet
Quadrajet
In automobile mechanics, the Quadrajet is a four-barrel carburetor made by the Rochester Products Division of GM that was widely used in General Motors motor vehicles until 1990...
four-barrel carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
. The 389 engine received a wider cylinder bore (4.12 inches, 104.7 mm) for a total displacement of 400 CID (6.6 L) V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
. The 400 cubic inch engine was available in three models: economy, standard, and high output. The economy engine used a two-barrel carburetor rather than the Rochester Quadrajet
Quadrajet
In automobile mechanics, the Quadrajet is a four-barrel carburetor made by the Rochester Products Division of GM that was widely used in General Motors motor vehicles until 1990...
and produced 255 bhp at 4400 rpm, and 397 ft.lbf at 4400 rpm. The standard engine produced 335 bhp at 5000 rpm, and the highest torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
of the three engines at 441 ft.lbf at 3400 rpm. The high output engine produced the most power for that year at 360 bhp at 5100 rpm, and produced 438 ft.lbf at 3600 rpm. Emission controls
Automobile emissions control
Vehicle emissions control is the study and practice of reducing the motor vehicle emissions -- emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines....
were fitted in GTOs sold in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
1967 also saw the installation of significant safety equipment as required by federal law. A new energy-absorbing steering column was accompanied by an energy-absorbing steering wheel, padded instrument panel, non-protruding control knobs, and four-way emergency flashers.
The two-speed automatic transmission was also replaced with a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic
Turbo-Hydramatic
Turbo-Hydramatic is the registered tradename of a family of automatic transmissions developed and produced by General Motors. These transmissions mate a three-element torque converter to a Simpson planetary geartrain, providing three forward speeds plus reverse.The Turbo-Hydramatic series was...
TH-400. The TH-400 was equipped with a Hurst Performance
Hurst Performance
Hurst Performance, Inc. of Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, manufactured and marketed products for enhancing the performance of automobiles, most notably for muscle cars.-Products:...
Dual-Gate shifter, called a "his/hers" shifter, that permitted either automatic shifting in "Drive" or manual selection through the gears. Front disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
s were also an option in 1967.
GTO sales for 1967 remained high at 81,722.
1968
GM A platform (RWD)
The General Motors A platform was a rear wheel drive automobile platform designation used from at least 1939 up until 1981...
line for 1968, with more curvaceous, semi-fastback styling. The previous 115 inch (292 cm) wheelbase was shortened to 112 inches (284 cm) for all two-door models. Overall length was reduced 5.9 inches (150 mm) and height dropped half an inch (12 mm), but overall weight was up about 75 pounds (34 kg). Pontiac abandoned the familiar vertically stacked headlights in favor of a horizontal layout, but made hidden headlights available at extra cost. The concealed headlights were a popular option. The signature hood scoop was replaced by dual scoops on either side of a prominent hood bulge extending rearward from the protruding nose.
A unique feature was the body-color Endura front bumper. It was designed to absorb impact without permanent deformation at low speeds. Pontiac touted this feature heavily in advertising, showing hammering at the bumper to no discernible effect. Though a rare option, a GTO could be ordered with "Endura Delete", in which case the Endura bumper would be replaced by a chrome front bumper and grille from the Pontiac Le Mans. This model year further emphasized the curvacious "coke bottle" styling.
Powertrain options remained substantially the same as in 1967, but the standard GTO engine's power rating rose to 350 hp at 5,000 rpm. At mid-year, a new Ram Air package, known as Ram Air II, became available. It included freer-breathing cylinder heads, round port exhaust and the 041 cam. 'Official' power rating was not changed, although actual output was likely much higher. Another carry-over from 1967 was the 4-piston caliper disc brake option. While most 1968 models had drum brakes all around, this rare option provided greater stopping power and could be found on other GM A-Body vehicles of the same period. 1968 was also the last year the GTOs offered separate vent, or "wing", windows—and the only year for crank-operated vent windows.
Another feature was concealed windshield wipers, hidden below the rear edge of the hood. They presented a cleaner appearance and were a North American first, following British Leyland's earlier debut on Austin and Triumph models. Another popular option, actually introduced during the 1967 model year, was a hood-mounted tachometer, located in front of the windshield and lighted for visibility at night. An in-dash tachometer was also available.
Redline bias-ply tires continued as standard equipment on the 1968 GTO, though they could be replaced by whitewall tire
Whitewall tire
Whitewall tires or white sidewall tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber.-Background:Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber. However, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance, so carbon black was added to the rubber...
s at no extra cost. A new option was radial tire
Radial tire
A radial tire is a particular design of automotive tire . In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially ....
s for improved ride and handling. However, very few were delivered with the radial tires because of manufacturing problems encountered by supplier B.F. Goodrich
Goodrich Corporation
The Goodrich Corporation , formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F...
. The radial tire option was discontinued after 1968. Pontiac did not offer radial tires as a factory option on the GTO again until the 1974 model.
Hot Rod tested a four-speed GTO equipped with the standard engine and obtained a quarter mile reading of 14.7 seconds at 97 mi/h in pure stock form. Motor Trend clocked a four-speed Ram Air with 4.33 rear differential at 14.45 seconds at 98.2 mi/h and a standard GTO with Turbo-Hydramatic and a 3.23 rear axle ratio at 15.93 seconds at 88.3 mi/h. Testers were split about handling, with Hot Rod calling it "the best-balanced car [Pontiac] ever built," but Car Life chiding its excessive nose heaviness, understeer, and inadequate damping.
Like all 1968 passenger vehicles sold in the United States, GTOs now featured front outboard shoulder belts (cars built after January 1, 1968) and side marker lights.
Now facing serious competition both within GM and from Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, and Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...
—particularly the low-cost Plymouth Road Runner
Plymouth Road Runner
The Plymouth Road Runner was a muscle car built by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States between 1968 and 1980. In 1968, the first muscle cars were, in the opinion of many, moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained options...
—the GTO won Motor Trends Car of the Year award
Motor Trend Car of the Year
The Motor Trend Car of the Year is an award given by Motor Trend magazine, an American monthly that is published since 1949.- Background :...
, and sales remained strong at 87,684 (which would ultimately prove to be the second-best sales year for the GTO).
1969
The 1969 model did not have the vent windows, had a slight grille and taillight revision, moved the ignition key from the dashboard to the steering column (which locked the steering wheel when the key was removed, a Federal requirement installed one year ahead of schedule), and the gauge faces changed from steel blue to black. In addition, the rear quarter-panel mounted side marker lamps changed from a red lens shaped like the Pontiac "V" crest to one shaped like the broad GTO badge. Front outboard headrests were made standard equipment on all GTOs built after January 1, 1969.The previous economy engine and standard 350 hp 400 CID V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
remained, while the 360 hp 400HO was upgraded to the Ram Air III, rated at 366 hp at 5,100 rpm. The top option was the 370 hp Ram Air IV, which featured special header-like high-flow exhaust manifold
Exhaust manifold
In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word manifold comes from the Old English word manigfeald and refers to the folding together of multiple inputs and outputs.In contrast, an inlet manifold is the part of an engine...
s, high-flow cylinder heads, a specific high-rise aluminum intake manifold, larger Rochester QuadraJet four-barrel carburetor, high-lift/long-duration camshaft, plus various internal components capable of withstanding higher engine speeds and power output. Unlike the big-block Chevy
Chevrolet Big-Block engine
The Chevrolet big block is a series of large displacement V8 engines that were developed in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. As American automobiles grew in size and weight following the Second World War the engines powering them had to keep pace...
and Hemi
Chrysler Hemi engine
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi, is a series of V8 engines built by Chrysler with a hemispherical combustion chamber. Three different types of Hemi engines have been built by Chrysler for automobiles: the first from 1951–1958, the second from 1964–1971, and the third...
motors, the Ram Air IV utilized hydraulic lifters.
By this time, the gross power ratings of both Ram Air engines were highly suspect, bearing
less relationship to developed power and more to an internal GM policy limiting all
cars except the Corvette to no more than one advertised horsepower per 10 lb (4.5 kg) of curb
weight. The higher-revving Ram Air IV's advertised power peak was actually listed at
5,000 rpm—100 rpm lower than the less-powerful Ram Air III.
The Ram Air V was introduced in 1969. It was a special 400 block with newly designed high compression tunnel port heads and a special high rise intake manifold. A prototype GTO so equipped could go 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds, and the quarter-mile time was 11.5 seconds at 123 mph (198 km/h). Ram Air Vs were not installed in GTOs at the factory; it was available only as an "over-the-counter" product, and most went to Pontiac racers of the time.
The most significant event of 1969 for the GTO was the launch of a new model called 'The Judge'. The Judge name came from a comedy routine, "Here Come de Judge", used repeatedly on the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
TV show. The Judge routine, made popular by legendary showman Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
was borrowed from the act of long-time Burlesque entertainer Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham
Pigmeat Markham
Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham was an African-American entertainer. Though best known as a comedian, Markham was also a singer, dancer, and actor...
. Advertisements used slogans like "All rise for The Judge" and "The Judge can be bought." As originally conceived, the Judge was to be a low-cost GTO, stripped of some gimmicks to make it competitive with the Plymouth Road Runner
Plymouth Road Runner
The Plymouth Road Runner was a muscle car built by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States between 1968 and 1980. In 1968, the first muscle cars were, in the opinion of many, moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained options...
. During its development, however, it was decided to make it the ultimate in street performance and image. The resulting package ended up being US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
332 more expensive than a standard GTO, and included the Ram Air III engine, Rally II wheels without trim rings, Hurst shifter (with a unique T-shaped handle), wider tires, various decals, and a rear spoiler.
Pontiac claimed that the spoiler had some functional effect at higher speeds, producing a small but measurable down force, but it was of little value at legal speeds except for style. The Judge was initially offered only in "Carousel Red," but late in the model year a variety of other colors became available.
The GTO was surpassed in sales both by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS396
Chevrolet Chevelle
The Chevrolet Chevelle is a mid-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors in three generations for the 1964 through 1977 model years. Part of the GM A-Body platform, the Chevelle was one of Chevrolet's most successful nameplates. Body styles include coupes, sedans,...
and the Plymouth Road Runner
Plymouth Road Runner
The Plymouth Road Runner was a muscle car built by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States between 1968 and 1980. In 1968, the first muscle cars were, in the opinion of many, moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained options...
, but 72,287 were sold during the 1969 model year, with 6,833 of them being The Judge. The rarest GTO was the Ram Air IV Judge convertible - only five were built (Year One catalog).
1970
The suspension was upgraded with the addition of a rear anti-roll bar, essentially the same bar as used on the Oldsmobile 442
Oldsmobile 442
The Oldsmobile 442 was a muscle car produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. It was introduced as an option package for F-85 and Cutlass models sold in the United States beginning with the 1964 model year. It became a model in its own right from 1968 to 1971, then reverted to an...
and Buick Gran Sport
Buick Gran Sport
The Buick Gran Sport or GS was a high-performance option package available on a number of Buick models, including the Riviera, Skylark, Century and Wildcat. A special version of one model was given the package's name as its model name....
. The front anti-roll bar was slightly stiffer. The result was a useful reduction in body lean in turns and a modest reduction of understeer
Understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Simply put, oversteer is what occurs when a car turns by more than the amount commanded by the driver...
.
Another handling-related improvement was optional variable-ratio power steering
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
. Rather than a fixed ratio of 17.5:1, requiring four turns lock-to-lock, the new system varied its ratio from 14.6:1 to 18.9:1, needing 3.5 turns lock-to-lock. Turning diameter was reduced from 40.9 feet (12.5 m) to 37.4 feet (11.4 m).
The base engine was unchanged for 1970, but the low-compression economy engine was deleted and the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV remained available, although the latter was now a special-order option.
A new option was Pontiac's 455 HO engine (different from the round-port offerings of the 1971-72 cars), available now that GM had rescinded its earlier ban on intermediates with engines larger than 400. The 455, a long-stroke engine also available in the full-size Pontiac line as well as the Grand Prix, was dubiously rated by Pontiac as only moderately stronger than the base 350 HP 400 cu. in. and less powerful than the 366 hp Ram Air III. Curiously, per the Pontiac brochure of the time, the same spec 455 installed in the Grand Prix model was rated at 370 hp. The camshafts used in the Ram Air III and the GTO 455 HO were the same. For example the manual transmission 455 HO's used the same 288/302 duration cam as the Ram air III. The 455 was rated at 360 hp at 4,300 rpm. Its advantage was torque: 500 lbft at 2,700 rpm. A functional Ram Air scoop was available. Car and Driver tested a heavily optioned 455, with a four-speed transmission and 3.31 axle and recorded a quarter mile time of 15.0 seconds with a trap speed of 96.5 mi/h . Car Lifes Turbo-Hydramatic 455, with a 3.35 rear differential, clocked 14.76 seconds at 95.94 mi/h, with identical 6.6 second 0-60 mph acceleration. Both were about 3 mi/h slower than a Ram Air III 400 four-speed, although considerably less temperamental: the Ram Air engine idled roughly and was difficult to drive at low speeds. The smaller displacement engine recorded less than 9 miles per US gallon of gasoline, compared to 10 miles per US gallon-11 miles per US gallon for the 455.
A new and short-lived option for 1970 was the Vacuum Operated Exhaust (VOE), which was vacuum actuated via an underdash lever marked "EXHAUST." The VOE was designed to reduce exhaust backpressure to increase power and performance, but it also substantially increased exhaust noise. The VOE option was offered from November 1969 to January 1970. Pontiac management was ordered to cancel the VOE option by GM's upper management following a TV commercial for the GTO that aired during Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
January 11, 1970. In that commercial, entitled "The Humbler," which was broadcast only that one time, a young man pulled up in a new GTO to a drive-in restaurant with dramatic music and exhaust noise in the background, pulling the "EXHAUST" knob to activate the VOE and then left the drive-in to do some street racing. That particular commercial was also cancelled by order of GM management. Approximately 233 1970 GTOs were factory built with this rare option including 212 hardtop coupes and 21 convertbiles, all were "YS" 400ci 350 hp/with either four-speed manual or Turbo Hydra-matic transmissions. This particular GTO in the commercial was Palladium Silver with a Black bucket interior. It was unusual in several respects as it also had the under-dash "RAM AIR" knob just to the right of the VOE knob, and it sported '69 JUDGE stripes, as a few very-early '70 GTOs could be ordered with. It also had a Turbo Hydra-matic transmission, remote mirror, Rally II wheels, A/C, Hood Tach, and a new-for-1970 Formula steering wheel. A few 'VOE' mufflers were "Hand-made" for the remaining cars; this occurred in 2006 and 2007, and they are now available from Waldron Antique Exhaust.
The Judge remained available as an option on GTOs. The Judge came standard with the Ram Air III, while the Ram Air IV was optional. Though the 455 CID was available as an option on the standard GTO throughout the entire model year, the 455 was not offered on The Judge until late in the year. "Orbit Orange" became the new standard color for the '70 Judge, but any GTO color was available on The Judge. Striping was relocated to the upper wheelwell brows.
An Orbit Orange 1970 GTO with the 455 engine and Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission was one of the featured cars in the movie Two-Lane Blacktop
Two-Lane Blacktop
Two-Lane Blacktop is a 1971 road movie directed by Monte Hellman, starring singer-songwriter James Taylor, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird. Esquire magazine declared the film its movie of the year for 1971, and even published the entire screenplay in its April, 1971...
, which depicted a cross-country race between the new GTO and a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Chevrolet Bel Air
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
. The car, owned by the studio, was not depicted as a Judge; however, in reality it WAS a RAIV powered Judge. They mentioned the 455 engine as it projected a more powerful offering to the public.
The new styling did little to help declining sales, which were now being hit by sagging buyer interest in all musclecars and by the punitive surcharges levied by automobile insurance companies, which sometimes resulted in insurance payments higher than car payments for some drivers. Sales were down to 40,149, of which 3,797 were The Judge. Of those 3,797 Judges built, only 168 were ordered in the Convertible form: RA III, RA IV and 455HO. The general consensus is that six of the 168 built were ordered with the 1970-only D-Port 455HO 360 hp engine, a no-cost option, which explains the conflicting production figures over the years as to how many were built; 162 vs. 168. The '69/'70 'Round-Port' RA IV engine, a derivative of the '68½ 'Round-Port' RA II engine, was the most exotic high-performance engine ever offered by PMD and factory-installed in a GTO or Firebird. The 1969 version had a slight advantage as the compression ratio was at 10:75:1 as opposed to 10.5:1 in 1970. It is widely known that PMD was losing $1,000 on every RA IV GTO and Firebird built, and the RA IV engine was highly under-rated at 370 hp. Overall, only a precious 37 RA IV GTO Convertibles were built in 1970: (24) 4-Speeds and only (13) automatics. Of the (13) '70 GTO RA IV/Auto Convertibles built only a precious six (6) received the Judge option. One of those, a #'s-Matching Atoll Blue/Blue/White top example was bid to $240K @ the May 2009 Mecum Auctions in Marengo, Illinois, and did NOT sell. Th low bid was attributed to the stagnant economy, and that particular car is documented back to the original owner in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The three-speed manual, nor A/C, was not available with the RA IV engine, and the standard axle ratio was 3.90, with the 4.33 being a low-cost option. The GTO remained the third best-selling intermediate muscle car, out-sold only by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396/454 and Plymouth Road Runner.
1971
A new corporate edict, aimed at preparing GM for no-lead
Tetra-ethyl lead
Tetraethyllead , abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula 4Pb. An inexpensive additive, its addition to gasoline from the 1920's allowed octane ratings and thus engine compression to be boosted significantly, increasing power and fuel economy...
gasoline, forced an across-the-board reduction in compression ratios. The Ram Air engines did not return for 1971. The standard GTO engine was still the 400 CID V8, but now with 8.2:1 compression. Power was rated at 300 hp SAE gross at 4,800 rpm and torque at 400 lbft at 3,600 rpm. It had 255 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the GTO and 250 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the Firebird.
An engine option was the 455 CID V8 with four-barrel carburetor, 8.4 to 1 compression ratio and 325 hp (242 kW) at 4,400 rpm, which was only available with the Turbo Hydra-matic TH-400 transmission. It had 260 hp SAE net at 4,000 rpm in the GTO and 255 hp SAE net in the Firebird. This engine was not available with air induction.
The top GTO engine for 1971 was the new 455 HO with 8.4 compression, rated at 335 hp at 4,800 rpm and 480 lbft at 3,600 rpm. It had 310 hp SAE net at 4,400 rpm in the GTO and 305 hp SAE net in the Firebird Trans Am or Formula 455 with air induction. The 1971 Pontiac brochure declared that this engine produced more NET horsepower than any other engine in its history. That would imply the 400 CID V8 Ram Air engines had less than 310 hp net. While rated at 335 hp gross, in order to suggest it had less power than it did, you could say it should have been rated at 375 hp gross to compare with other Pontiac engines. This engine had more NET horsepower than the 1970 455 CID V8 GTO, which was essentially the regular engine found in other Pontiacs with a GTO exhaust system, and was continued in 1971 as the second option above.
For 1971,the standard rear-end was an open 10 bolt. Posi-traction 10 bolt rear ends were available as an option on 400 CI engine equipped GTO's, while all 455 CI GTO's were available with a 12 bolt open or optional 12 bolt posi-traction rear-end.
Motor Trend tested a 1971 GTO with the 455, four-speed transmission, and 3.90 axle, and obtained a 0-60 mph time of 6.1 seconds and a quarter mile acceleration of 13.4 seconds at 102 mph (164 km/h).
The Judge returned for a final year, With the standard equipment being the Mountain Performance package was the 455 HO. Only 357 were sold before The Judge was discontinued in February 1971, including 17 convertibles today the rarest of all GTOs, aside from the 1969 Ram Air IV convertible. Only 10,532 GTOs were sold in 1971, 661 of which were non-Judge equipped convertibles.
1972
In 1972, the GTO reverted from a separate model line to a US$353.88 option package for the LeMans and LeMans Sport coupes. On the base LeMans line, the GTO package could be had with either the low-priced pillared coupe or hardtop coupe. Both models came standard with cloth and vinyl or all-vinyl bench seatBench seat
The bench seat was the traditional seat installed in American automobiles. This seat featured a continuous pad running the full width of the cabin...
s and rubber floor mats on the pillared coupe and carpeting on the hardtop, creating a lower-priced GTO. The LeMans Sport, offered only as a hardtop coupe, came with Strato bucket seats upholstered in vinyl, along with carpeting on floor and lower door panels, vinyl door-pull straps, custom pedal trim and cushioned steering wheel, much like GTOs of previous years. Other optional equipment was similar to 1971 and earlier models. Planned for 1972 as a GTO option was the ducktail rear spoiler from the Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro...
, but after a few cars were built with that option, the mold used to produce the spoiler broke, and it was cancelled. Rally II and honeycomb wheels were optional on all GTOs, with the honeycombs now featuring red Pontiac arrowhead emblems on the center caps, while the Rally IIs continued with the same caps as before, with the letters "PMD" (for Pontiac Motor Division).
Power, now rated in SAE net hp terms, was down further, to 250 hp at 4,400 rpm and 325 lbft at 3,200 rpm torque for the base 400 engine. The optional 455 had the same rated power (although at a peak of 3,600 rpm), but substantially more torque. Most of the drop was attributable to the new rating system (which now reflected an engine in as-installed condition with mufflers, accessories, and standard intake). The engines were relatively little changed from 1971.
A very rare option was the 455 HO engine, essentially similar to that used in the Trans Am. It was rated at 300 hp at 4,000 rpm and 415 lbft at 3,200 rpm, also in the new SAE net figures. Despite its modest 8.4:1 compression, it was as strong as many earlier engines with higher gross power ratings; yet like all other 1972-model engines, it could perform on low-octane regular leaded, low-lead or unleaded gasolines. Only 646 cars with this engine were sold.
Sales plummeted by 45%, to 5,811. (Some sources discount the single convertible and the three anomalous wagons, listing the total as 5,807.) Although Pontiac did not offer a production GTO convertible in 1972, a buyer could order a LeMans Sport convertible with either of the three GTO engines and other sporty/performance options to create a GTO in all but name. Even the GTO's Endura bumper was offered as an option on LeMans/Sport models, with "PONTIAC" spelled out on the driver's side grille rather than "GTO."
1973
Pontiac Grand Am
The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform along with other cars such as the Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Chevelle, Buick Century, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme...
) was generally not well received by the car buying public.
In contrast, the Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Grand Prix
Picking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
and Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
, which were also derived from the intermediate A-body, were much better received because of their squared-off styling and formal rooflines with vertical windows. Pontiac's sister division, Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
, received better reviews from the automotive press and the car-buying public with the similar-bodied Cutlass
Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....
.
Again, the 1973 GTO option was offered on two models including the base LeMans coupe or the LeMans Sport Coupe. The base LeMans coupe featured a cloth-and-vinyl or all-vinyl bench seat while the more lavish LeMans Sport Coupe had all-vinyl interiors with Strato bucket seats or a notchback bench seat with folding armrest. The LeMans Sport Coupe also had louvered rear side windows from the Grand Am in place of the standard triangular windows of the base LeMans.
The standard 400 CID V8 in the 1973 GTO was further reduced in compression to 8.0:1, dropping it to 230 hp (170 kW). The 400 engine was available with any of the three transmissions including the standard three-speed manual, or optional four-speed or Turbo Hydra-Matic. The 455 CID V8 remained optional but was dropped to 250 hp (186 kW) and available only with the Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission. The 455 HO engine did not reappear, but GM initially announced the availability of a Super Duty 455 engine (shared with the contemporary Pontiac Trans Am SD455), and several such cars were made available for testing, impressing reviewers with their power and flexibility. Nevertheless, the Super Duty was never actually offered for public sale in the GTO. Also, eight 455SD Grand Ams were also built for testing and eventually all were destroyed as well.
Sales dropped to 4,806, due in part to competition from the new Grand Am and the lack of promotion for the GTO. By the end of the model year an emerging energy crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
quashed consumer interest in muscle cars.
1974
Wanting to avoid internal competition with the "Euro-styled" Pontiac Grand AmPontiac Grand Am
The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform along with other cars such as the Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Chevelle, Buick Century, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme...
, and looking for an entry into the compact muscle market populated by the Plymouth Duster 360
Plymouth Duster
The first Plymouth Duster was a semi-fastback version of the Plymouth Valiant automobile, produced in the US from 1970 to 1976.The Duster name was later revived for optional trim packages on certain versions of the 1979-1980 Plymouth Volare, 1985-1987 Plymouth Turismo, and 1992-1994 Plymouth...
, Ford Maverick Grabber
Ford Maverick (North America)
The Ford Maverick was a compact car manufactured from April 1969-1977 in the United States, Canada, Mexico and from 1973-1979 in Brazil — employing a rear wheel drive platform dating to the original 1960 Falcon...
and AMC Hornet X
AMC Hornet
The AMC Hornet was a compact automobile made by the American Motors Corporation in one generation beginning with the 1970 model year and continuing through the 1977 model year. The Hornet replaced the compact Rambler American marking the end of the Rambler marque in the American and Canadian markets...
, Pontiac moved the 1974 GTO option to the compact Pontiac Ventura
Pontiac Ventura
The Pontiac Ventura was an automobile produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors. The word "ventura" is a derivitave of the word "bonaventure" which is Italian for "good fortune". It also shares its name with the locations of Ventura, California and Ventura, Iowa...
, which shared its basic body shell and sheetmetal with the Chevrolet Nova
Chevrolet Nova
The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a compact automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced in four generations for the 1962 through 1979 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II nameplate was dropped, Nova becoming the...
. Critics dubbed it "a Chevy Nova in drag."
The $461 GTO package (Code WW3) included a three-speed manual transmission with Hurst floor shifter, heavy-duty suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars, a shaker hood, special grille, mirrors, and wheels, and various GTO emblems. The only engine was the 350 CID (5.7 L) V8 with 7.6:1 compression and a single four-barrel carburetor. It was rated at 200 hp at 4,400 rpm and 295 lbft at 2,800 rpm. Optional transmissions included a wide-ratio four-speed with Hurst shifter for $207 (Code M20) or the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic. Power Steering was a $104 option (Code N41) as well as Power front disc brakes for $71 (Code JL2).
The GTO option was available in both the base Ventura and Ventura Custom lines as either a two-door sedan or hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
. The base Ventura interior consisted of bench seats and rubber floor mats, Bucket seats could be added for $132 (Code A51), while the Ventura Custom had upgraded bench seats or optional Strato bucket seats along with carpeting, cushioned steering wheel, and custom pedal trim.
Bias-belted tires were standard equipment, but a radial tuned suspension option added radial tires along with upgraded suspension tuning for improved ride and handling.
Cars Magazine tested a 1974 GTO with the optional four-speed and obtained a 0-60 mph time of 7.7 seconds and a quarter mile reading of 15.72 seconds at 88 mi/h .
Sales were an improvement over 1973, at 7,058, but not enough to justify continuing the model.
1975 to 1999
Pontiac had planned to offer a 1975 GTO, again based on the compact Ventura and powered by a Pontiac-built 350 CID V8. The Ventura and other GM compacts underwent substantial styling and engineering changes, the latter including front and rear suspensions similar to the sporty Firebird. In the end, however, the GTO was discontinued following a corporate decision to switch to Buick V8 engineBuick V8 engine
Like its sister General Motors divisions, Buick produced its own family of V8 engines to replace its straight-8 engines. These engines came in many of the same displacements as those from other divisions, but were entirely different.-Buick "Nailhead V8":...
s on the 1975 Ventura line, though Pontiac V8s were continued in all other division models. GM management decided that the GTO must end its production run.
In 1975, an enterprising Pontiac dealer in the Eastern United States
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
reportedly decided to "create" a new GTO. Sensing that the 1974 GTO should have continued on the intermediate LeMans platform rather than downsized to the Ventura line, this dealer advertised and sold an undetermined number of 1975 Pontiac GTOs. These cars were factory-ordered by the dealer as LeMans Sport Coupes equipped with the 400 or 455 CID V8s with four-barrel carburetors, Turbo Hydra-Matic transmissions, Strato bucket seats and console, power steering, power disc brakes, Rally II or Honeycomb wheels, and Radial Tuned Suspension with whitewall or white-lettered radial tires. The dealer replaced the Pontiac and LeMans nameplates with "GTO" badges inside and out. This dealer-made 1975 GTO could be ordered with any LeMans exterior/interior combination along with any other extra-cost options available on the regular LeMans.
In 1976, Jim Wangers reportedly presented a LeMans Sport Coupe as a new GTO Judge prototype with a 400 CID V8 that was painted Carousel Red to Pontiac division officials as a possible GTO revival to supplement dramatic sales increases for the Firebird Trans Am (now accounting for 50% of Firebird sales) for those buyers who wanted a sporty performance car but needed a roomier back seat and larger trunk. However, division officials turned down the idea of an intermediate-sized GTO, but the concept was considered and approved for production; not as a GTO revival, but as the 1977 Pontiac Can Am
Pontiac Can Am
The Pontiac Can Am was a mid size muscle car based on the LeMans. It was a special edition option package, and was only available in 1977.-Background:...
.
During the subsequent 30 years, Pontiac considered several plans to revive the GTO nameplate, but none came to fruition. In 1988, when Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
planned to create a 442 based on the Cutlass Calais
Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais
The Oldsmobile Calais, renamed the Cutlass Calais for 1988, and briefly available in 1987 as the limited edition GMO Quad-4, was a compact car produced by General Motors from 1985 through 1991. In part, it was intended to replace the Omega in Oldsmobile's lineup...
, Pontiac built a prototype GTO based on the Grand Am, equipped with a Quad 4
GM Quad-4 engine
The engine family known as the Quad 4 was debuted to the public in the spring of 1987. The Quad 4 was a DOHC inline 4-cylinder produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division...
engine. The revived 442, introduced for the 1990 model year, proved to be a low seller, leading Pontiac to quietly cancel the GTO revival.
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese automaker Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
marketed a GTO
Mitsubishi GTO
The Mitsubishi GTO is a sports car built by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors between 1990 and 2001. In most export markets it was rebadged as a Mitsubishi 3000GT. It was also sold by Chrysler in North America as a Dodge Stealth captive import from the 1991 to 1996 model years with only minor...
coupe, although it was sold in U.S. and Canada as the Mitsubishi 3000GT to avoid legal conflicts with Pontiac. Fans of the original GTO considered the appropriation of a famous muscle car by a Japanese automaker to be sacrilegious, much as sports car fans of the 1960s had been infuriated by Pontiac borrowing the name of the Ferrari racer.
1999 concept car
During the 1999 Detroit Auto ShowNorth American International Auto Show
The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
, a GTO concept car
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
with a heritage-inspired "Coke-bottle" shape, grille, and hood scoop, was introduced to the world. It was only a design experiment and had no engine. The concept never made it into production, but created its own unique following at the time.
2004
The Pontiac GTO was relaunched in the United States in 2004, a rebadged third generation Holden MonaroHolden Monaro
The Holden Monaro is an automobile that was produced by GM Holden Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors, between 1968 and 1977 and between 2001 and 2005...
. It became Pontiac's first captive import
Captive import
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for an automobile part or entire vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system....
since the 1993 Pontiac LeMans. The Monaro is a 2-door coupe variant of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n developed VT/VX Holden Commodore
Holden VT Commodore
The Holden VT Commodore, Berlina, and Calais are the tenth iteration of the Holden Commodore, a full-size car built by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...
. The Commodore had, in turn, been developed by enlarging the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an designed 1994 Opel Omega B, which was marketed in its original form in the U.S. from 1997 to 2001 as the Cadillac Catera
Cadillac Catera
The Cadillac Catera is a mid-sized automobile manufactured in Rüsselsheim, Germany, as a rebadged variant of the Opel Omega—and marketed by Cadillac in North America as an entry-level model, with approximately 95,000 examples manufactured from 1997–2001.A Sport model was offered beginning in...
.
The revival was prompted by former GM North America Chairman Bob Lutz, who had the idea of importing a Holden Commodore-based vehicle after reading a Car and Driver review of the Holden Commodore SS, published circa 2000. Car and Driver praised the performance of the V8 powered, rear-wheel-drive Holden Commodore SS, but noted that even though it was one of the best vehicles that GM offered at the time, it could not be purchased in the United States. The idea of importing a rear-wheel-drive Holden as a GM North American performance offering gradually transformed into importing the Commodore-based Monaro. Lutz, as well as other GM executives, later drove a Holden Monaro while on a business trip in Australia, which convinced them that importing the car could be a profitable venture.
From promoting his initial idea to the time the GTO reached North America, Lutz had spent much time trying to convince other GM executives to import the car, and as well in overcoming the obstacles presented by the then-existent corporate culture that promoted regional autonomy between GM North America and its overseas divisions. This resulted in an "unnecessarily long gestation period," as Lutz put it, and the final product arrived much later in its design cycle and at a much higher cost than anticipated. The Monaro design had existed since 2001, but by 2004, it already looked dated when it was released in the United States. It was also originally targeted to sell in the US with an approximate $25,000 price. However, by the time the car was released, the Australian dollar's growth against the US dollar inflated the final price of the car to over $30,000. Both of these elements played a significant role in the car's lukewarm acceptance by the general public.
The GTO was assembled by GM's Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
subsidiary in the suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia
Elizabeth, South Australia
Elizabeth is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Playford.-History:Elizabeth was established in 1955 as part of a planned satellite town by the South Australian Housing Trust on rural land between the older towns of Salisbury and...
. It was equipped with the LS1
GM LS engine
The GM LS engine family is an engine design intended as the only V-8 engine used in General Motors' line of rear-wheel-drive cars and trucks. The LS series was a "clean sheet" design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8...
('04 model year) or LS2
GM LS engine
The GM LS engine family is an engine design intended as the only V-8 engine used in General Motors' line of rear-wheel-drive cars and trucks. The LS series was a "clean sheet" design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8...
('05-'06 model years) V8 engines, with a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. Changes from the Australian-built Monaro included bracing additions to the body to meet US crash standards, a "corporate Pontiac" front facia, new badging, "GTO" stiching on the front seats, and a revised exhaust system. GM designers tried over 30 different exhaust configurations in an attempt to reproduce the exhaust tone of the original 1964 GTO. The 2004 GTO exhaust was a true dual system that followed the original Monaro exhaust routing, thus both tailpipes exited on the driver side of the vehicle. The Monaro was also exported to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as the Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
Monaro and to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
as the Chevrolet Lumina
Chevrolet Lumina
The North American Chevrolet Lumina sedan , coupe and minivan were first introduced in 1989 for the 1990 model year as a new range of vehicles from the Chevrolet brand of General Motors to replace the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, and the Monte Carlo coupe. The Lumina was an answer...
SS at the time. GM North America's deal with Holden was to produce a maximum of 18,000 vehicles per year starting in late 2003 and going through to the end of the 2006 model year. The 18,000 units was the production limit for the model at the Australian assembly plant.
Initially in 2004, the car was offered in several colors: Barbados Blue Metallic, Cosmos Purple Metallic, Quicksilver Metallic, Phantom Black Metallic, Impulse Blue Metallic, Torrid Red, and Yellow Jacket.
GM had high expectations to sell 18,000 units, but the Monaro-based GTO received a lukewarm reception in the U.S. The styling was frequently derided by critics as being too "conservative" and "anonymous" to befit either the GTO heritage or the current car's performance. In addition, the classic GTO faithful felt further insulted by GM's failure to present a U.S.-built car that incorporated any design lineage from the muscular icons of the 1960s and 1970s. Given the newly revived muscle car
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...
climate, it was also overshadowed by the Chrysler 300
Chrysler 300
The Chrysler 300 is a full-size upscale car first shown at the 2003 New York Auto Show as a concept car. Sales in the U.S. began in the spring of 2004 as an early 2005 model year car. Designed by Ralph Gilles, the new 300 was built as a high-end sedan while the SRT-8 model was designed to be the...
, the Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, built on three different platforms and sizes, all bearing the Charger nameplate...
, Dodge Magnum
Dodge Magnum
The Dodge Magnum name has been used on a number of different automobiles. The most recent is a large rear-wheel drive station wagon introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year and produced through to 2008. This new Magnum is Dodge's first car to use the new Chrysler LX platform, shared with the...
and the new Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
, which all featured more traditional "muscle" aesthetics, even though the GTO outclassed them in performance. Critics also pointed out the car's high sale price, commenting that a lower price would have made the car's apparent faults far more forgivable. Sales were also limited because of dealer
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
tactics, such as initially charging large markups and denying requests for test drives of the vehicle. By the end of the year, the 2004 vehicles were selling with significant discounts. Sales were 13,569 of 15,728 cars for 2004.
To help squelch comments about the car's appearance, the hood scoops that originally were slated for production in 2005 were pushed into production as part of an over-the-counter Sport Appearance Package. The 2004 Sport Appearance Package also included a taller and more angular rear spoiler as well as deeper inset grilles.
Closing out the 2004 model year was the W40 package. Rumored to be a stillborn 40th anniversary package , it gave the buyer an exclusive paint color called Pulse Red, red GTO embroidery on the seats, and a grey colored gauge cluster. The last 794 of the 2004 model year GTOs were built with the W40 package.
2005
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine tested the car at 4.6 seconds 0-60 mph and 13.0 seconds at 106 mi/h for the quarter mile, so the claims were justified. Dashboard gauge graphics were also revised. The optional dealer installed Sport Appearance Package became available and differed visually by having a different lower rear fascia that sported quad chrome exhaust tips, louder aggressive sounding mufflers, a modified spoiler, a modified front lower fascia extension, recessed grilles, and modified rocker panels. This package was available from GM as an accessory in red, silver, black, or primer for other color cars. Nonetheless, production was scaled back to 11,069, primarily because of a shortened model year. Barbados Blue and Cosmos Purple were dropped this year, but Cyclone Grey and Midnight Blue Metallic were added. Customers had the option to order their GTO without hood scoops, though only 24 were produced this way.
2006
On February 21, 2006, Buick-Pontiac-GMC General Manager John Larson announced to dealers that GM would halt imports of the GTO in September, making 2006 the last model year for the new GTO. He stated the main reason for the cease in production was the GTO's inability to meet new airbag deployment standards that were going into effect in 2007. This fate should have come as no surprise since this generation GTO was only intended as a limited production run for those 3 years from the beginning of the program.
The final production numbers of the 2006 Pontiac GTO are 13,948 cars, an increase from 11,069 from the previous model year.
The last Pontiac GTO, which was also the very last Monaro-based coupe produced, came off the assembly line in Australia on June 14, 2006. Total production for all three years was 40,808 vehicles.
Despite the lower than anticipated sales numbers and an unenthusiastic response by the American public, the new-age GTO has become a "sought after cult-car," with many loyal owners. Even though it was not a sales success, it was a vital lesson to GM that its regional divisions could not only work together, but that overseas divisions could engineer outstanding automobiles.
Motorsports
- Joey Scarallo currently drives a Pontiac GTO for Group A Racing in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT Series.
- Battery Tender/MCM Racing currently uses a GTO in the Rolex Sports Car SeriesRolex Sports Car SeriesThe Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
GT class. - David Pearson drove a 1971 GTO in the Winston Cup Series.
See also
- Holden MonaroHolden MonaroThe Holden Monaro is an automobile that was produced by GM Holden Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors, between 1968 and 1977 and between 2001 and 2005...
- MonkeemobileMonkeemobileThe Monkeemobile is a modified Pontiac GTO that was designed and built by designer Dean Jeffries for The Monkees, a pop-rock band and television program...
- John Z. DeLorean
- Bob Lutz
External links
- GTOAA.ORG GTO Association of America