Released on October 1st, 1963, the Pontiac GTO featured a Tri-Powered 389 CID V8 engine that could burst your eardrums with how loud it was. The Pontiac Motor Division managed to surprise the motoring world when they began to produce factory-built high-performance cars. Pontiac's parent company, General Motors, capped the size of engines to just 330 CID V8s in mid-sized cars.
But what Pontiac discovered was that the fastest way to produce more horses was through cubic inches. John DeLorean and Jim Wagners discovered a loophole and smuggled in the full-zed car engine as part of an option package. As the story progresses and due to the intelligence of DeLorean and Wagner, the 1964 Pontiac GTO was unveiled and became the world's first muscle car.
The Pontiac GTO Origin Story
The Pontiac Motor Division wanted its cars to appeal to a younger audience. DeLorean and the Wagners knew that if they wanted to appeal to a younger market, they couldn’t just repeat what they’d done in the past. What they decided to do was extremely clever!
They pretty much copied what all young car enthusiasts did back in the 60s, which was stick loads of sporty, performance parts onto their cars while replacing the engine with an ever bigger full-sized car engine to fit inside their mid-sized cars. What this did was give the younger car enthusiasts exactly what they wanted without having to do any work on the cars themselves.
Initially, the Pontiac GTO was overlooked, and sales started fairly slowly. Eventually, people began to see what potential the Pontiac GTO had. It was at this point that the Pontiac GTOs started selling rapidly, with Pontiac selling six times as many GTOs as they had projected. A whopping 32,450 Pontiac GTOs were sold in its first year of production.
Very impressive, especially to say that this was in the 1960s. Sales of the Pontiac GTO again skyrocketed after a 1964 cover story stated that the Pontiac GTO was faster in the quarter mile than the Ferrari 250 GTO, and while this may not have been true, people believed it and swarmed to purchase a Pontiac GTO.
And with a base 389 VID 6.4-liter V8 engine as well as other options such as a 4-speed manual transmission, Tri-Power carburetors, and positraction. It is no surprise that the world sees the Pontiac GTO as the first ever muscle car. John DeLorean saw a great marketing strategy when it came to the Pontiac GTO, and it was simply to call the car GTO, which means Gran Turismo Omolgato.
This, in Italian, basically means a car that can perform in many types of races. DeLorean saw the gap in the market and wanted people to know that the Pontiac GTO was an American-made high-performance car that could compete with the big boys. $295 or the equivalent of $2,400 in today's money could see you turn a Pontiac Tempest into a Pontiac GTO, with the option of a hardtop, coupe, or soft-top.
Once the option was made to convert your Tempest into a GTO, the GTO option included many cosmetic and performance-enhancing upgrades. Transforming a dull, boring, and slow motor into a fiery, exciting, and speedy muscle car.
Pontiac GTO Packed Impressive Performance
To say the Pontiac GTO was designed, constructed, and distributed in the 1960s, and its performance statistics are phenomenal. From the beastly 6.4-liter 389 CID V8 engine, 325 hp could be unleashed, allowing a 0-60 mph time in an adequate 6.9 seconds whilst topping out at 122 mph. Quite awe-inspiring for a car created in the 1960s.
Besides the breathtaking engine, the Pontiac GTO features some other impressive features, including chrome air cleaners, chrome valve covers, a heavy-duty suspension, as well as a dual exhaust system, which only made the roar of the Pontiac GTO even louder.
In addition to these fairly innovative features, the Pontiac GTO also featured 4-barrel Carter AFB carburetors and a 3-speed manual transmission which was controlled with a Hurst shifter. Although the transmission could be upgraded to a four-speed manual transmission or a two-speed Super Turbine 300 automatic transmission.
Redline US Royal Tiger Paw tires were placed on the Pontiac GTO, while GTO badges were placed on the exterior and interior of the car to add to that luxury yet aggressive feel.
1964 Pontiac GTO Was One Of A Kind
Many people disagree that the Pontiac GTO was the first muscle car, and many others believe that the Pontiac GTO was a huge letdown in some ways. But you’ve got to remember this car was designed and created in the 1960s, a period in which many people didn’t even own cars.
Pontiac couldn’t just recreate another magnificent and powerful muscle car. They had to work from scratch with very little resources to create the Pontiac GTO. And for that reason, the Pontiac GTO should be regarded as a highly advanced piece of engineering with many advanced features and incredible performance statistics for its time of release.
Source: Pontiac