Looking at the Pontiac GTO History
In the early part of the New Millenium, former GM North America Chairman Bob Lutz read a magazine article about the Holden Commodore SS from Australia. With Holden being a GM subsidiary, Lutz wondered why GM North America didn’t have anything like the Commodore SS. An impressive vehicle using a powerful front-mounted V-8 engine on a rear-drive platform, Lutz thought the Commodore SS would do well in the American market, giving GM a product to compete with European high-performance sedans from the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Met with a number of layers of corporate bureaucracy, the idea shifted from the Commodore to the Holden Monaro, a two-door sport coupe also using the same front-engine, rear-drive platform, but the idea of importing a Holden from Down Under was gaining steam.
The plan was to create a new version of the Pontiac GTO using the Monaro as the base and market it for around $25,000-$27,000, in the price range of the Ford Mustang GT and F-Body cars, the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. Corporate bureaucracy being what it is, the GTO took time to develop and import, and wasn’t available in the USA until 2004, at which point various economies of scale played into the mix causing the price to rise to roughly $34,000, or about $5,000 more than a basic Mustang GT. Interestingly, with word of what GM was doing, importing the Holden Monaro as the Pontiac GTO, Ford built upon the Mustang GT and reintroduced the Mach 1. As if that weren’t enough, an entirely new retro-styled Mustang was being planned for the 2005 model year. It was going to be an uphill battle for the new Pontiac GTO as it rolled off the boat.
Pontiac GTO HP, 0-60, and Top Speed
The inaugural year of the new GTO featured the tried-and-true 350 HP 5.7L LS1 V-8 with a choice of either a 4-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. While it offered impressive performance, the price left some people with a little sticker shock and most of the American motoring press downplayed the new car as having outdated styling but a terrific interior with four bucket seats, nice leather upholstery, and an overall handsome environment. For 2005, the LS1 would be replaced with a 400 HP 6.0L LS2 V-8 with the same transmission choices. It was the shot in the arm the GTO needed to become a spectacular performance car – the 0-60 times were in the sub-5-second range, the ¼-mile times were around 13-seconds and the top speed was said to be in the 160 MPH neighborhood. These were slight, but noticeable, improvements over the 2004 GTOs, and the car also got bigger brakes. Suddenly the MSRP seemed a little more reasonable. Pontiac worked a little styling magic too with subtle details setting it apart from the very sedate and clean look exhibited by the 2004 models. With more aggressive styling, better braking and better acceleration, 2006 was ushered in with no mechanical changes to speak of.
Pontiac GTOs for Sale
Rare, roughly 40,747 were made across the three years, with 2005 seeing the lowest number of sales at a tick over 11,000 – interestingly, this was the year the scooped hood became an option, and the majority were so equipped. Just 24 had the flat hood in 2005. Colors often also play into the rarity factor. In 2004, just 700 were painted Cosmos Purple, a one-year only color – of the 700, 323 had the manual transmission and 377 had the automatic. Interiors were offered in black, red, blue and purple, normally corresponding with the exterior colors – Cosmos Purple, for example, was only available with purple interior. Special colors included Spice Red Metallic and Brazen Orange, but Barbados Blue and Cosmos Purple, while never marketed as special colors, became known as special colors simply because only a few were produced.
In the ensuing years since their release, many GTOs have fallen victim to a number of modifications ranging from terrific to absolutely disgusting, sadly ruining the car. In recent years, however, a surge in prices indicates strong interest in low-mileage, original examples, particularly with the 6.0L/6-speed manual transmission. The 2004s represent the best bargain thanks to the highest number produced and lower-powered engine. However, they shouldn’t be entirely snubbed, as they still exhibit a high-quality build and lovely materials usage. Buying an ’04, even with an automatic, will yield a terrific cruising car that’s easy to maintain and traditionally more reasonably priced than the 2005 and 2006 variants. But, at least for now, those later years indicate the best return on investment and an absolute improvement in performance.
Why do we like them?
Rarity plays heavily into the reasoning, but so to do the build quality and overall performance. Even with the lowly 5.7L and an automatic, the GTO offered outstanding performance, even 20 years on. Time flies. But its performance is still relevant, and that styling that was noted as being so dated and overly bland when it was new has held its own and appears recent and modern today. The interior is very comfortable, and with a Chevrolet dealer seemingly on ever corner in America, finding service is fairly easy, however, make no mistake, parts are going to become a bit of an issue in the coming years. Simply put, with so few built, it will be a challenge finding various parts. But not for the engine and transmission. The interior hosts a righthand radio volume knob and parking brake lever, which is slightly odd to any Yank, but remembering the car was designed for the Australian market, it makes sense. The Blaupunkt stereo sounds great, and frankly put, these cars just worked and worked well.