One of my favorite trends of “Americarna” has been retro-futurism in the mid 2000s. The Thunderbird, the Mustang, & the Mini Cooper all shared design elements of their ancestors with the latter two continuing to compete with the newest retro inspired cars like the Camaro & Challenger. These cars have earned success, popularity, & remain in production, but there was another car that had the potential to be something great, but failed to find the cache, as it had in the past, to challenge the heavy hitters from Detroit - & that is the Pontiac GTO.
The brainchild of John Delorean, yes that DeLorean, the GTO wasn’t conceived as a standalone model, but rather an add on option for the 1964 Pontiac Tempest. An option so popular, GM had no choice but to create a stand alone GTO model & the rest is history.
The GTO was always a competitor to the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, & Corvette, but like many muscle cars, the energy crisis of the 70s made customers wary of partaking in the joy of owning a muscle car. 1973 was the last year the car was an actual stand alone muscle car, as in 1974, the GTO reverted to being an option on the Pontiac Ventura. And the death of the GTO was complete.
Fast forward to the late 90s. Bob Lutz is the chairman of GM & he is reading a copy of Car & Driver & the Australian muscle car Holden Monaro catches his eye. C&D journalists go on and on about how wonderful the car is & how unfortunate that a GM brand like Holden can’t be sold in the US. The wheels start turning in Lutz’ brain & 5 LONG years later, the 5th gen GTO comes to America.
Unfortunately, the welcoming of the GTO was not as warm as it should have been. There are a few reasons for this - first, the car was supposed to come out in 2001, but eventually rolled into dealerships in 2004 - making executives like Lutz say the design was outdated before it even came out. Second, the Australian dollar’s value strengthened in the 5 years it took to get the car to the US, which meant the GTO was supposed to be $25k, but went up $9k & the GTO is introduced at $34k. I think these reasons were uncalled for.
Thanks to my brother-in-law, I have spent some time behind the wheel of a 5th gen GTO & I think the lukewarm welcome wasn’t warranted. First of all, let’s talk about the heart of the car - a 350hp naturally aspirated LS1 V8 engine - always a good thing. Then, we have a 6 speed manual transmission - again, awesome. Rear wheel drive? Check. Styling is nothing too polarizing. The car looks like nothing else on the market, but remains Pontiac as the mesh ovular grill is present. Ok, one thing I don’t like - the Altezza style tail lights.
Moving onto the interior - the door feels wonderful & sturdy to open. The seats are extremely comfortable and soft. The steering is responsive and connected.. The gauges are visible & the fact that they are colored is an awesome touch. As a whole, the interior is simple & has aged well due to being so. The materials are not super luxurious by any means, but will stand the test of time.
For 2005+, the LS1 was replaced with an LS2 motor, bumping power by 50hp to a solid 400hp & torque to 400ft lb of torque, upgraded Corvette brakes, upgraded driveshaft, and quad tip exhaust.
In terms of driving dynamics, the car is not a sports car like the Mustang or Corvette, but is more of a gentle grand touring cruiser. It has a bad ass motor in it, the right gear box, can get sideways if you’d like, but maintains a civil drive that would be wonderful for longer road trips.
Sadly, the car never caught on like it should have. GM produced over 40,808 units in 3 years of production. The car was compared to the Mitsubishi Evo IX & the Subaru STi of the time, which is the wrong comparison. If released today, this car would be compared to the Challenger - a larger American Grand Touring coupe that is ready to eat up highway miles.
The prior success and most recent failure of the GTO is a travesty. This was a great car that looked modern, had a great drivetrain, and hit the buttons of a niche market. Available for the masses, but appreciated by the few, the GTO is a future classic.