Posted: Wednesday, October 12, 2005.

Pontiac GTO: 400 Horsepower Coupe

With the loss of the Firebird some years ago, the Pontiac division of General Motors lost some its excitement. There was no truly high performance vehicle in the lineup.

By Ed Kemper
Honolulu, Hawaii
Courtesy of Jackson Automotive

So why not bring back the infamous GTO, an icon of an earlier age of the big engine in the small but roomy enough body?

Only a couple of problems with this thought — there was neither a body nor engine in the Pontiac inventory to build one. Well, then the only logical thing to do was to go find one. So guess where the right car was found — Australia, of course.

It just so happened that GM’s subsidiary in Australia had a coupe with the right ingredients — rear drive with a fully independent rear suspension. Finding the engine was less difficult — simply borrow the Corvette powerplant. Thus, the Holden Monaro transforms into the Pontiac GTO with the correct Pontiac grill and other styling hints.

The first version of the new Goat (that was the nickname for the first GTO) had a 5.7-liter, 350 hp all aluminum V-8 with a 4 speed automatic standard and a six speed stick as optional equipment.

Critics and followers of the brand loved the power and handling, but they thought the styling was on the bland side of the equation.

Enter the 2005 model with hood scoops and huge exhaust pipes to freshen the exterior, and as a bonus a giant upgrade in the engine compartment. Since the new for 2005 C6 Vette had a 400 horsepower, 6-liter engine, that same powerplant becomes the standard GTO engine.

Again, the only option is the 6-speed stick and every other feature is customary equipment.

Goat Crossing
To see if this baby will rip an automatic transmission version was the Wheels tester. The out the door sticker price was $34,295 and as the spec sheet indicates everything from leather seats to 17-inch alloy wheels is standard items.

Probably the sound of the Vette powerplant alone is worth the price of admission. When started, there is low and deep guttural V-8 resonance that is hard to duplicate with other powerplants. Further, there is no question that the power is instant and always available. An added bonus is the low-end torque, which propels the Goat II without hesitation. Although the 4-speed automatic is commendable in shifting, one wonders why G.M. could not pull a five speed from its parts bin to help with highway mileage.

The steering is direct and responsive but rather heavy to the touch. Concerning ride and cornering, the solid body with the fully independent suspension handles road imperfections reasonably well — large pukas in the road are felt, but absorbed. With big fat tires and excellent suspension geometry, corners are handled easily.

With the hood scoops and other performance hints, the exterior is more aggressive looking than the first year edition. However, the overall shape has a somewhat generic, but smooth look to it. In a word, it says Pontiac but not very loudly.

Inner Sanctum
In keeping with the theme, the front bucket seats are first rate with solid bolstering all around and without being hard. Emblazed in the top of the seat back are the GTO letters. The quality and look of the leather is very good, and there is plenty of entertaining stitching and seams to add to the package.

In the dash pod are three circles of gauges with the usual info. Better, however, is that within each circle is a window showing various computer data that is easily changed to provide different types of info — a useful feature. Interestingly, instead of the background of the gauges being white or black, it is red.

On the leather covered steering wheels are controls for the stereo and a stalk handles the cruise function.

Three round dials handle the A/C job, and below those controls are lots of large and well-marked stereo buttons to handle the stereo/6 CD player. A medium sized armrest/storage unit is found in the center console along with a number of open storage pukas.

Plastic metallic looking pieces are found on the doors, steering wheel, dash and console to break up the interestingly textured dash and other interior pieces.

Real metal, however, is on the pedals with the appropriate pukas.

Real World
Unlike so many two-door coupes these days, the GTO has a real back seat, albeit limited to two additional passengers. In essence, instead of faking it with a full bench in the back, Pontiac simply duplicated the front seats in the back, thus providing some real comfort.

To get to the rear, the front seat has to be moved forward with the use of the power controls. Legroom and the other essential measurements are good. The two headrests are adjustable and the airflow to the rear chamber is provided by air vents in the back of the center console.

Surprisingly, considering the size of the GTO, the trunk is not very large, but it is adequate for some large suitcases and wide enough for a set of golf clubs to be laden down easily. Opening the trunk is accomplished with the remote or a button in the glove compartment.

Corvette Coupe
With latest edition of the GTO, Pontiac bolstered the performance envelope with a 400 horsepower V-8 from the Corvette, and upgraded the performance image with some exterior revisions including hood scoops. If any one doubted the power of the first model, there can be no doubt this time around. So for about $15,000 less than Corvette, the driver almost receives the some performance but can carry 2 more people to join in on the fun.

Q&A
Q: The GTO is built in Australia. What other American manufacturer brought in an Australian import?

A: Ford in the 1990s imported the Mercury Capri 2 seat sports car. But with the Miata coming into the market at about the same time, the RX2 was not a sales success.

High Beams
• Power to spare anywhere.
• Great interior with comfortable and hugger front seats.
• A real back seat for adults in this coupe.

Low Beams
• Exterior styling, even with the additions, still not enough of a performance look.

– Ed Kemper is the auto columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin and MidWeek, the Weekend. He also hosts Wheels Hawaii TV on Oceanic Cable-Channel 16 in Hawaii, which is shown on Wednesday at 12:30 PM, Thursday at 1:00 PM and 5 PM, Friday at 10:30 PM and 9:30 PM, and Saturday at 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

TOP