Pontiac GTO muscle car out of Australia gets a 'Vette engine
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- "That thing got a 'Vette in it?"
The in-the-know driver, pulling beside us at a stop sign in Dawsonville, hometown of champion driver Bill Elliott and the Georgia epicenter of NASCAR racing, inquires while eying our muscular coupe in a real-life imitation of the "That thing got a Hemi in it?" television commercial.
Also like the TV ad, we confirm the question before stomping on the go-pedal and blasting off in a squealing peel of rubber while the mechanical equivalent of 350 horses sends so much power to big rear wheels and twin pipes in back bark in departure.
Then, as the sleek and swift machine streaks out of Dawsonville on Shoal Creek Road, Georgia route 183, we whistle that 'Sixties mantra, "Go, go, little GTO."
Pontiac, it seems, has revived the nameplate for its muscle-car icon from the 1960s in a modern interpretation with a V8 engine out of a Corvette sports car.
Pontiac's original GTO led the muscle-car craze in the Sixties and ultimately accounted for more than half a million units sold.
It debuted as a 1964 model packing a "four on the floor" shifter plus a stout V8 engine.
Ultimately, the GTO, like other muscle-car imitators, ran aground in the 1970s following oil embargos, soaring fuel prices and legislation mandating cleaner air.
This new rendition, bearing a 2004 model-year designation, applies the hallowed GTO badge to the shapely two-door body of a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) coupe called Monaro that's constructed in Elizabeth, Australia, by Holden, a GM subsidiary from Down Under.
Then it's spiked with Corvette's 5.7-liter V8, the LS1 engine as tuned to 350 hp at 5200 rpm in this application with torque of 365 lb-ft at 4000 rpm.
And it totes a 'Vette transmission.
Standard is a heavy-duty four-speed automatic, the smooth-shifting GM Hydra-Matic 4L60-E.
Optional is a close-ratio manual by Tremec with six forward gears.
This new GTO, like the original, can romp down the road, as our dash out of Dawsonville demonstrates.
Expect it to reach the mark of 60 mph in less than six seconds (with the manual six-speed it's only 5.3 seconds) and pass the quarter-mile post in 13.8 seconds at a speed of 105 mph.
No other vehicle in the GM fleet, excepting Corvette, can match these swift numbers.
With such a potential for speed, it's only logical to expect that mechanical equipment aboard GTO also skews toward performance.
It stocks a limited slip differential tied to a traction control system (TCS) and four-wheel disc brakes with linkage to an anti-lock brake system (ABS).
Wheels of aluminum alloy measure to 17-inch in diameter and carry performance-geared tires specified at P225/50R17.
The tight independent suspension employs direct-acting stabilizing bars with MacPherson struts and progressive-rate springs up front and a live axle in back with semi-trailing links and gas-charged dampers.
Also, GTO's quick-to-respond steering system works through a rack and pinion device with power assistance in a variable ratio.
We put all of these handling systems under stress while playing curves over narrow strips of pavement warped by the Blue Ridge wrinkles of northern Georgia beyond Dawsonville.
Without so much as a whisper of complaint from rubber, our GTO takes a dicey downhill curve with the confidence of a sure-footed sports car as all torque from the LS1 V8 flows to the rear rollers.
Its body, hunkering low, tips only slightly around the curve in concession to lateral forces of motion, as the suspension damps tires over pavement ripples in a taut but smooth manner.
Little GTO, we quickly discover, acts aggressively, yet it's so tight and poised and stable that it's fun to drive.
It looks cool too.
The body, conformed with GTO characteristics of a long prow and curt tail, shows curvilinear shapes with wheels pushed to the corners and scant overhangs fore and aft.
A bold face is marked by Pontiac's twin-port grille flanked by three-dot clusters of round headlamps and the underscore of a yawning air intake port.
Lines are sleek and smooth across the hood although the original GTO's signature of a prominent functional hood scoop is the obvious omission for this new iteration.
The lowered stance seems even closer to the pavement due to a low wrap of flaring aero-style trim.
A long coupe-style door on each side provides access to the 2+2 cockpit.
The design inside looks flashy and fast and structured for performance.
Layout pegs a pair of bolstered bucket seats up front on each side of a multi-level console mounted on the floor and housing the transmission lever and a storage box with the padded lid also working as an armrest.
In back, there are two articulated seats sculptured and bolstered but separated by a flat panel.
Seats are clad in leather with the color coordinated with body paint, spokes in the steering wheel wear satin-finish chrome and pedals on the floor get a combination of metal with rubber studs for good grip.
Four round analog gauges appear in the instrument panel plus three LCD panels for digital readouts of data.
Other stock items on GTO range from a six-disc CD-changer with premium audio system and ten speakers to a multi-function driver information center, interior climate controls, keyless entry system and a cruise controller.
Safety equipment includes three-point safety belts for all four seat positions, dual frontal air bags and an Emergency Mode that kills the engine and fuel pump and unlocks doors if air bags deploy.
Pontiac sets the MSRP for GTO at $31,800 plus a $695 delivery fee and the manual shifter optional for $695.
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| 2004 PONTIAC GTO VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Mid-size performance coupe
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size performance coupe
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| Wheelbase: |
109.8 inches
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| Overall Length: |
189.8 inches
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| Engine Size: |
OHV 5.7-L V8 (LS1)
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 4L60-E
Manual/6 Tremec
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| Drive: |
Rear
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc
ABS/TCS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front)
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| Gas Mileage: |
A/4: 16/21 mpg
M/6: 17/29 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
GTO A/4: $ 31,800, GTO M/6: $ 32,495 |
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