1964 Pontiac GTO – carsforsale.com | Shop Pontiac GTO on Carsforsale.com
The Pontiac GTO has a rich history over several generations. It’s a supercar that has become legendary, an influencer in the muscle car craze, but it all started when General Motors put a ban in place on producing cars made for racing. Before that ban in 1963, Pontiac was focused on producing cars for the race track. After that ban, Pontiac had to differentiate itself.
The engineering team of John DeLorean (yes, that DeLorean), Russ Gee, and Bill Collins gathered to make a powerful car that was fun to drive. They pulled the ‘GTO’ letters from the Ferrari 250 GTO, an abbreviation for Gran Turismo Omologato. Translated from Italian to English, that means ‘Grand Tourer Homologated.’
While looking at a prototype of the 1964 Le Mans Coupe, Collins suggested adding a 389-cubic-engine to it. The addition improved power and handling, but GM had an internal policy that all vehicles must have 10 lbs of vehicle weight per cubic inch of engine displacement.
Thankfully, a loophole was found: the displacement limit only referred to base engines. The development team skirted around GM’s mandate by offering the GTO as a package for the Le Mans. What happened next? Well, you have to continue reading to find out how the GTO went on to become known as ‘The Legend,’ ‘The Great One,’ ‘The Tiger,’ ‘The Grandfather of Muscle Cars,’ and ‘The Goat,’ a car that could eat anything on the street.
2006 Pontiac GTO – netcarshow.com | Shop Pontiac GTO on Carsforsale.com
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