The origins of the Pontiac GTO, the first muscle car

The Pontiac GTO is one of the most significant cars of the second half of the 20th century for one simple reason: it invented the muscle cars.

Let’s go back to its history.

The rebirth of Pontiac

To understand the origins of the GTO, you have to go back to 1956. At this point, the Pontiacs were considered not very exciting and sales did not meet the expectations of GM executives.

Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen was appointed in July at the head of the division with an instruction: redress the bar or close the doors. As chief engineer, he debauchery Pete Estes from Oldsmobile and, to assist the latter, he hires John DeLorean (yes, THE famous DeLorean), who then works at Packard.

It was in the 1959 vintage that the first signs of Pontiac’s rebirth appeared. The new Wide Track design wins the title of Car of the Year by the magazine Motor Trend and sales increase by 76% (!). It was also in this year that the Pontiac V8, introduced in 1955, was produced in a displacement that would be very popular with performance enthusiasts: the 389 pc. Finally, comes the last significant player in the launch of the GTO: Jim Wangers, creative for the agency MacManus, John & Adams, in charge of Pontiac advertisements.

In 1961, the game of musical chairs began. Thanks to Pontiac’s success, Knudsen was appointed head of Chevrolet, Estes took his place and DeLorean became the division’s chief engineer. That same year, a 421 pc V8 called “Super Duty” was introduced, a 405 horsepower monster that would become important later in history.

Small storm

Also in 1961, the brand’s first compact model was launched: the Tempest. The car is very modern: monocoque construction, 4-wheel independent suspension and rear gearbox, allowing perfect weight distribution. The base engine is a 194 pc 4 cylinder (which is actually literally a 389 pc V8 cut in half) while a 215 pc Buick V8 is also available. If the car holds the road well, the design of its transmission (with a torsion bar instead of the usual propeller shaft) causes it to vibrate too much. The customers do not follow. This is why it was decided to develop a new, more traditional generation for the 64 vintage.

In the meantime, the Tempest received a first sport version in 1963 with a 326 pc Pontiac V8 giving 260 horsepower. A taste …

A simple but brilliant idea

It is early 1963, at GM’s test track in Milford, Michigan. Every Saturday morning DeLorean has a habit of holding informal test sessions there with his close associates and a few guests (including Wangers), in order to test new ideas. On this day, it is a prototype of Tempest 64 with a 326 pc which is evaluated. DeLorean is joined by Bill Collins, undercarriage and chassis manager, and Russ Gee, engine specialist. Looking at the car, Collins slips, almost jokingly: “You know John, it would only take us half an hour to put a 389 in that car.” DeLorean nods and looks at Gee, who also thinks it’s a good idea.

You should know that, unlike other GM divisions, the Pontiac V8s (326, 389 or 421 pc) are all made on the same block. Thus, they have the same external dimensions and, above all, the same anchor points on the frame. And the switch to traditional architecture for 1964 (front gearbox) did make engine change relatively easy.

And there you have it, the recipe for muscle car was born: to slide the large blocks reserved for full-size models into an intermediate body, lighter (not to be confused with the pony cars like the Mustang and the Camaro, which benefit from specific bodywork).

The car will finally be ready the following Saturday and will prove to be a charm to drive. DeLorean finds a name for it: GTO, for Gran Turismo Omologato (a name already used by Ferrari but not registered). He will assess the production price and push the project to Estes, who is enthusiastic. It’s after that things are going to take a turn for the worse …

Internal resistance

In 1963, performance was not well received at GM. The corporation has just finished all its support for competition programs, just to calm down the federal government, which is starting to talk about splitting GM in two. And then there is an internal regulation that prohibits more than 10 pounds of weight per cubic inch of displacement. Which means that the new Tempest, weighing around 3,500 pounds, couldn’t have an engine bigger than 350 pc. Finally, Pontiac’s sales manager, Frank Bridge, is fiercely opposed to the idea. Suffice to say that the project will be difficult to achieve.

The corporate committee that deals with the displacement limit is mainly interested in new models. To get around it, DeLorean and Estes decide to make GTO an options group, with options management being done only at the division level. They also managed to convince Bridge to probe the reaction of the network by offering 5,000 copies for sale. “I bet you won’t even sell 5,000!” He will say. The 5,000 pre-orders arrived in just a few days. The GTO was launched!

What is a GTO?

Take a Le Mans, more upscale version of the Tempest unveiled in 1962, and check the RPO 382 box in the options list. With this you get a 389 pc engine with 325 horsepower AFB quad-barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, three-speed manual transmission with Hurst lever, reinforced clutch, firmer suspension, red striped tires, specific logos and two false air inlets on the hood. You could also add a more powerful engine (389 pc Tri-Power 348 hp with three Rochester double barrel carburettors), a Muncie 4-speed manual or a 2-speed automatic, a limited-slip differential, sport wheels, air conditioning as well. that all the electric comfort.

Under the radar

Introduced in October 1963, after the launch of the vintage, the GTO was not even mentioned in the first Pontiac catalogs. In order not to irritate GM executives, the promotional campaign, orchestrated by Jim Wangers, does not appear on television or in the major national newspapers. It targets specialized automotive magazines, not yet really mainstream, with advertisements with unambiguous slogans: “I wouldn’t stay in the middle of the page if I were you, it’s a Pontiac GTO”, “The GTO produces the kind of storm that others can only talk about ”or“ For the man who would not be afraid to ride a tiger if someone had put wheels on him ”(the theme of the tiger will also be dominant in the early years of GTO promotion, another idea from Wangers).

And it works! Pontiac, which had promised not to sell more than 5,000 copies to GM management, will sell 32,450 in the first year (7,384 coupes, 18,422 coupés hardtop and 6,644 convertibles). Faced with such success, the administrators said nothing and even allowed the other divisions to launch similar projects. He also said to himself that the directors of Chevrolet were furious to have blown the idea.

“Small” arrangements

Not content to manage the publicity, Wangers will then arrive with even more crazy promotional ideas: the GTO perfume, the GTO shoes, the “GTO” record by Ronnie and the Daytonas (which will sell more than a million copies). . But it is also he who takes care of the press fleet and relations with magazines. The GTOs made available to journalists are spiced up by Royal Pontiac, in Royal Oak, Mich., And perform better than the average customer has come to expect.

However, he went even further with Car & Driver magazine by suggesting to its editor, David E. Davis Jr., a comparison between the Pontiac GTO and the Ferrari GTO for its March 1964 issue. will not be a true “face to face”, the magazine not having the Ferrari on hand and simply referring to a previous test. For the test, two Pontiacs were delivered to Florida: a red for acceleration and a blue for the rest. Car & Driver will see impressive numbers: 4.6 seconds for 0 to 60 mph and 13.1 seconds for the quarter mile.

This article will greatly contribute to the aura of GTO in the general public. However, no other magazine will manage to reproduce such figures. Why? Many years later, Wangers would admit the cheating: the folks at Royal Pontiac had slipped a very prepared 421 pc, visually very close to 389 pc, into the red car. A bluff that will pay off for Pontiac AND for Car & Driver. So, no hard feelings …

In video: a Quebecer presents his 1969 Pontiac GTO