The debut of the Pontiac GTO took place in 1964. The car opened the era of Muscle Car. The name of the GTO was not simple. It meant gran turismo omologato and was borrowed not from anyone, but from Ferrari. The car was an experiment that started the great John DeLorean, who then worked on Pontiac.
He introduced the GTO as an option for the Pontiac Tempest model. It was the most that the usual coupe Pontiac Tempest. With the exception of one detail - instead of a weak engine, there was a 6.4 liter V8 engine and a power of 350 "horses". In the load to the engine, John DeLorean offered sports tires, precise steering, dual release. The democratic price of this car contributed to its frenzied popularity. For the first year 32 thousand cars were sold. And despite the fact that DeLorean himself planned to sell on the strength of five thousand. In 1965, the GTO acquired an updated body - more massive and refined, the headlights changed their horizontal position to a vertical one.
The car still differed enviable dynamics. Tests of the magazine Autocar model in 1965 showed: acceleration from standstill to 161 km / h took just 18.6 seconds. But the car weighed at least 1.65 tons. In the 1965-66s, sales reached almost 100,000 cars a year - this was a record among Muscle Cars for all 10 years of existence of these cars.
In 1967, the body again updated. At this time, the GTO was the pioneer in the fashion of the contours of the wings in the image of a bottle of Coca-Cola. This design solution immediately began to use competitors. In 1968, the GTO comprehended a global restyling, in fact it turned out to be a completely different machine, which has little to do with the versions of 65-67. Exterior acquired more aggressive features that are more suited to the explosive temperament of this car. In the latest fashion, GTO bestowed retractable headlamps. And although in the "base" the car was delivered without them, this option was ordered so often that many considered it as standard.
The engine developed 366 hp and clocked the car in 6.2 seconds before the "hundred". But the main thing is that the updated GTO again presented an innovative solution and set the fashion for the absence of a classic bumper. Instead, the rubber bumper endura, not afraid of light collisions. In 1969, the Pontiac GTO reached its peak in popularity, mainly due to the fact that a very powerful version appeared, called “The Judge”.
For her, four modifications of the V8 engine were offered with a capacity from 265 to 370 horsepower. In 1970, the GTO again changed the body. But the main innovation was the engine with a crazy volume of 7.4 liters. At the same time, an interesting option appeared - a pneumo-controlled exhaust system, the meaning of which is that with a button on the console the driver could weaken the resistance at the outlet and thereby increase the power, and with it the noise level. Since 1971, the popularity of Muscle Cars has declined.
The corporation hardly managed to realize 10,000 cars. In addition, it was the last year for the GTO as for a separate Pontiac model. The next three years until the complete disappearance of the GTO went back to basics - it became an option for the Pontiac Tempest models Le Mans, Le Mans Sport and Ventura. Until 1974, due to the growing restrictions on toxicity, high insurance rates for young drivers and the OPEC fuel embargo, engine power declined, sales became less and less. In 1974, the GTO put the engines with a capacity of only 200 hp. As a consequence of all this, in 1974, the Muscle Cars disappeared. In 2004, the new-generation Pontiac GTO sports coupe was created.
Its basis was the model Holden Monaro, but the Pontiac GTO has an original body and interior design, has a landing formula of 2 + 2, rear-wheel drive and 17-inch wheels on alloy wheels. The car received a rigid bearing body with a high level of passive safety, powerful disc brakes with ABS, independent suspension of all wheels. The equipment of the salon corresponds to the high-class GTO and includes sports seats with a coating of genuine leather, a special trim and an instrument panel, a high-end audio system with a six-disc CD changer, an automatic climate system, etc. It offered two engines to choose from. The first is a 6-liter V8 LS2 with 405 hp.
The second is a 5.7-liter 16-valve V8 LT1 with a power of 355 hp. The speed parameters of the Pontiac GTO with an engine of 355 forces - the maximum speed is limited to 250 km / h, and the acceleration time from zero to 96 km / h takes less than 6 seconds. Transmission hydromechanical 4-speed "automatic".
By request, installed and manual 6-speed gearbox. Considering the power of the power units, the limited slip differential and the traction control system for the drive wheels were included in the vehicle’s serial equipment.
