When discussing muscle cars, there’s one singular elephant in the room. It’s a huge, often orange, elephant in the form of the Pontiac GTO. Commonly thought to be the first true production muscle car, when production began in 1964, there was nothing else quite like it. In some ways, there still isn’t. That simple three-letter name echoes in the minds and imaginations of every car person, resonating like a V8’s growl in an empty tunnel. All romanticism and metaphor aside, in this article, we’re going to explore the GTO’s history, from the market landscape at its launch to its last gasps in the 1970s.

As you’re probably aware, GM management banned its divisions from racing in 1963. For brands like Pontiac, with a reputation for speed, this was a true blow. If they couldn’t advertise their cars’ track performance in a realistic, accurate way like racing, what could they do? The answer, it turned out, lay in street performance. Power is power, after all, and if you can tear up highways, well, that’s what many people were after. Just as the Ford Falcon morphed into the Mustang, the GTO had its own humble roots in the form of the Pontiac Tempest. A fairly ordinary compact car, Pontiac planned a “Super Tempest” option for the second-generation of the auto. This car was to pack a 389 V8 and appeal to the youth, GM’s A-body engine limits be damned! Indeed, while GM had banned A-body cars from having engines over 330 ci, that ban didn’t apply to options packages. At least, not technically, and this was a loophole that Pontiac firmly intended to drive a muscle car through.

The name was ripped from the Ferrari 250 GTO, where it meant Gran Turismo Omologato, though, as the GTO is about as Italian as a deep-dish pizza, here it would stand for Grand Tempest Option.

The GTO package, as installed on the Tempest featured the 389 Pontiac V8, four-barrel carb, dual exhaust, chrome, and a three-speed manual transmission, amongst other niceties. All for the low price of $295. Not bad, huh? If the base specs weren’t quite up to your standards however, you could opt for extras including a four-speed manual transmission and a custom steering wheel. The king of options however, was the Tri-Power triple carb setup, which would allow the Tempest GTO to hit 60 in 5.6 seconds. This option cost $115, and it was worth every red cent.

If you were the racing sort, you could push this engine even further with the Bobcat tuning package, offered by Ace Wilson’s Royal Pontiac of Royal Oak, Michigan. This package could add a whole 30-50 horsepower to the GTO, and could be installed at home with a little know-how. This package is also at the center of a scandal which rocked the GTO upon release. Car and Driver magazine were told that they had been given a 389 GTO, which had been tuned with the Bobcat package. In this car, the magazine racked up a quarter-mile time of 12.8 seconds, leading to accusations of subterfuge by Pontiac. Years later, Jim Wangers, Pontiac’s then Chief Marketing Officer, would admit the magazine’s car had been fitted with a 421. Regardless of the scandal and negative reviews from a number of outlets, the GTO defied expectations. Frank Bridge, sales manager at Pontiac, had wanted to limit production to 5000, believing the car would not find a market. In its first year, the 325, 348, or 398 (depending on spec) horsepower little car was sold 32,450 times.

1965

The GTO of 1965 brought with it the redesign which had been applied across the rest of the Tempest line. This included vertically orientated headlamps, wraparound tailights, split grille, and a non-functional hood scoop, that could be made functional with a dealer upgrade. The engine’s cylinder heads were revised, with stud oiling passages being removed and a new intake manifold was fitted. Despite the car increasing in weight by around 100 lbs, horsepower increased to 335 horsepower as standard, and 360 with the Tri-Power set up. This car fared slightly better in critics’ eyes, with criticisms about the braking power and steering still remaining. Despite its issues, and thanks to the car’s originality (and a huge advertising campaign) sales of the GTO skyrocketed. In 1965, 75,342 cars were sold, breaking down into 8,319 sports coupes, 55,722 hardtop coupes, and 11,311 convertibles.

1966

While the 1966 GTO is still firmly rooted in the car’s first-generation, there were numerous major changes. For a start,  this was the year that the GTO became its own model. The body became far more sleek looking, aping the Coke bottle lines popular at the time. The tailights were louvered, the front grilles were moulded from plastic, bucket seats were fitted, and the instrument layout was changed. While these may seem like fairly small changes individually, when combined, they sent a clear message that the GTO was a car in its own right, not just an options package. While engines and power outputs remained the same, there was one new fixture you could opt to have installed, if you so chose. This was the XS Ram Air package, which also included a high lift cam. This increased power output to a superb 380 horsepower. Only 35 of these packages were installed at the factory, though a number were thought to have been installed at dealerships. They are, however, still a very rare find.

To call the 1966 GTO a roaring success would be an understatement. Sales were up to 96,946, the highest for any year of the GTO model. It was here to stay, and it had cemented its place in muscle car history.

1967

The final year of the first-generation brought a small number of changes, but it is clear that no one wanted to mess with the car’s winning formula. The louvre on the tailights was removed, to be replaced with a quartet of lights on each side. The Tri-Power option pack, which had been removed halfway through the 1966 model year, was replaced by a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carb option, and the 389 had its cylinders bored, increasing output to 400 cubic inches. The highest output of the 400 engine, paired with the Quadrajet, was 360 horsepower. A variety of safety equipment also had to be added for the 1967 model, including padding on the instrument panel, and a shoulder seat belt which was added as an option. The sluggish two-speed automatic transmission was also given the chop, replaced by a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic TH-400, which could drive in either auto or manual.

The policy of not messing with the GTO too much paid off, with 81,722 being sold that year.

The Second Generation

1968

In 1968, as part of GM’s redesign of the A-body line, we got a new GTO to call our own. The second-generation GTO was a few inches shorter than the first-generation one, and was in a new fastback-style bodyshape. The headlamps changed orientation from vertical to horizontal, and Pontiac boasted of their new body-colored Endura front bumper. Said bumper was advertized as being able to absorb impact without significant deformation. While a standard option, you can find cars without the Endura bumper, instead featuring a chromed one from a Pontiac Le Mans.

While the engine options stayed largely the same, base power was increased to 350 horses, and a Ram Air II option was introduced halfway through the model year. Buyers also had the option of fitting disc brakes to all four wheels, and the windshield wipers began to be concealed under the hood, as was common in GM cars of this era. Royal Pontiac, they of the aforementioned Bobcat package, upped the ante somewhat, offering a 428 engine, producing 390 horsepower, for $650.

The new car was wildly succesful, winning Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year Award, and sold 87,684 times over, the second best of any GTO.

1969

The revision of the GTO for the 1969 model year brought with it the usual minor changes, as well as some significant engine changes. The ignition system was moved from the dash to the steering column, as required by federal law, while the gauges changed color from blue to black.

The base engine remained at 350 horsepower, while the 400HO engine got boosted by six horses to 366 horsepower. The top-of-the-line option was the Ram Air IV, which featured high-flow exhaust and cylinder heads,  high-rise intake manifold, Quadrajet carb and a high-lift cam. The Ram Air IV was rated at 370 horsepower, but is commonly thought to have produced over 400 horsepower. Why was it advertised as producing significantly less, then? Well, GM had a bee in their bonnet about any car being seen as challenging the beloved Corvette. As such, an internal policy limited advertized horsepower to 1 per 10 lbs of the car’s weight. A ridiculous policy, but that’s a conglomerate for you.

This year also saw the introduction of the new, low-cost “The Judge” GTO. Named for a Laugh-In comedy routine, The Judge was a low-cost Road Runner competitor. The Judge lost some of the standard equipment, but was paired with the Ram Air III engine, a hurst shifter, bigger tires, and a new rear spoiler. The package cost $332, and sold quite poorly, with just 6,833 shipping, out of a total of 72,287 for 1969.

1970

As the new decade’s doors crashed open, Pontiac responded with a new aggressive styling which we would now recognize as quintessentially 70s. The body lines became more aggressive, while the older hidden headlamps were removed and four round lights were exposed for all to see. Power steering became an option this year, and the suspension was upgraded with an anti-roll bar. this was to be the best, or at least easiest, handling GTO yet.

The engines from 1969 remained largely the same, although the Ram Air IV became a special-order only option. Buyers could however also opt for the Pontiac 455 HO engine, officially rated at 360 horsepower, and thus less powerful than the 366 horsepower Ram Air III. That said, the same engine in the Grand Prix was rated at 370 horsepower, making more sense of its prescense in the GTO’s options list. For two months only, from November ’69 to January ’70, you could also bring the noise with the Vacuum Operated Exhaust option. This system increased power via a vaccuum actuated exhaust system, operated at the flick of a switch, and also increased the exhaust noise dramatically. Despite the aggressive styling and new engines, sales fell thanks to increasing insurance premiums, falling to 40, 419.

1971

As if the soaring insurance prices weren’t enough, 1971 also saw the first arrival of environmental restrictions, putting yet more pressure on the muscle car market. This year brought some minor redesigns: the hood now featured two large forward air intakes, wiremesh grilles, closer headlights, and horizontal bumper bars.

High compression V8s got the chop thanks to a new GM policy intended to preempt the arrival of unleaded gasoline. The base engine remained as the 400 V8, but with compression ratios of 8.2:1, with gross horsepower now set at 300 bhp. Meanwhile, the top engine was the 455 HO introduced the previous year, producing 335 gross horsepower. While compression was down, tests by Motor Trend in a 455 with four-speed transmission achieved a quarter-mile time of 13.4 seconds.

The Judge also gave his last verdict this year, apparently giving himself a death sentence on the orders of GM. The only engine available for it this time around was the 455 HO, and only 357 were sold. Sales for the GTO in general crumbled, with just 10,532 being sold.

1972

For 1972, the engines remained the same, and only minor cosmetic changes were made. These included a revised grille design, revised front quarter panels with air extractors behind the front wheels, and new exhaust outlets secreted behind the rear wheels. The largest change for 1972 was that the GTO became an options package for the Pontiac Le Mans, rather than its own model.

1973

While muscle cars were being neutered left and right in 1973, Pontiac somehow managed to find a winning engine for 1973. This engine, the Super Duty 455 V8, AKA the SD 455, output 310 horsepower, the most of any muscle car that year. This, however, was not enough to make up for the new styling. Featuring huge chrome bumpers at the front and rear to meet new federal legislation, and inoperable rear windows, it met with a harsh reception from the public.

The standard 400 ci engine was once again reduced in compression, this time to 8.0:1, reducing horsepower to 230 horsepower. Sales reduced to 4,806.

Third-Generation

1974

Ah, the year the GTO died. The bell tolled for muscle cars in the 1970s, and there was no escape for the GTO. For one year only, the GTO was moved as an option to the Ventura. That’s an issue. The Ventura was basically the Chevy Nova. The 455 was removed from the engine list, as was that GTO mainstay, the 400. This time, the base engine was a 350 V8 which produced just 200 horsepower, with a compression of 7.6:1.

The only saving grace I can think of for the 1974 GTO was a fold-out camper option which let you sleep under the stars (or more accurately, under the headliner) in the cargo area.

Thus, we come to the end of the GTO, at least, in its true form. While the GTO name returned as a rebadged Holden Monaro in the early 00s, and was a perfectly fine car, it was not the GTO we know and love. If, however, you can get your hands on a classic GTO for a good price, do it. It started the muscle car trend, and is a true motoring icon.