There were bigger-engined and more powerful performance cars from the competition, but the ’64 PONTIAC GTO IGNITES THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION!
Pontiac called it “A device for shrinking time and distance.” Magazine writers and editors called it a “Supercar”. And, from coast to coast, enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac – not Ford, Chevy, or Plymouth – essentially created the option that ignited the Supercar Revolution, and an almost cult-like movement. The GTO’s extensive performance, comfort, and convenience “menu” was the envy of the industry. Enthusiasts would eventually nickname the GTO the GOAT. It was the Supercar for all seasons – and reasons.
Because the GTO became an overnight sensation, fiction often gets in the way of reality when discussing responsibility for its concept and creation. Pontiac’s primary players were Pete Estes, General Manager, and John DeLorean, Chief Engineer. DeLorean’s staff included several racing enthusiasts. The concept of putting a 389-inch engine from a full-size Pontiac into a Tempest evolved from meetings DeLorean had with two performance-savvy guys – Bill Collins and Russ Gee – who headed up Pontiac’s Experimental Engineering Department. One of the key meetings, however, was not about creating a high-performance street car. It dealt with building a slightly longer wheelbase Tempest to replace the NASCAR Super-Duty 421 stockers that had become a thing of the past.
Gee revealed that since 326 and 389 engines shared the same motor mounts, a 389 could be shoehorned into a Tempest in about a half-hour. With NASCAR in mind, Russ Gee’s team built a ’63 Tempest 389 prototype with a three-inch longer wheelbase – 115 vs. 112 inches. It worked, and it was fast. But DeLorean couldn’t find any support for stock car racing at Pontiac. All efforts shifted to creating a product that would appeal to performance enthusiasts, preferably young ones. That proved to be a far better route.
During the discussion of a unique 389-engined Tempest, Jim Wangers, who was a successful Pontiac drag racer and account executive at Pontiac’s advertising agency, McManus, John & Adams, got involved. He also had a relationship with Ace Wilson, owner of Royal Pontiac. Wangers, above, right, presented youth-market-targeted GTO concepts to Pete Estes. Estes passed them along to DeLorean, and the 389 Tempest GTO program was greenlighted. Ferrari originally used the model designation GTO – Grand Turismo Omologato – for its 250 GTO. It means that the vehicle meets the standard specifications for racing in the Grand Touring category. Wangers was responsible for creating some of the legendary advertisements from the 1960s and 1970s, and the force behind Royal Pontiac’s ultra-performance Bobcat models, above.
GM Design created a dynamite follow-up for the 1964 auto show circuit – the tri-power GTO Flamme. Fitted with Cibie rectangular headlamps and under-fender exhaust cutouts and, of course, painted Flame Red, it debuted at the 1964 Chicago Auto Show. It was first shown with a white interior and wire wheel hubcaps. By the time I saw it at the 1964 New York Auto Show, lead photo, its custom interior was also red, and trendy chrome-reverse wheels had been installed.
Eric J. Savitz, Editor-in-Chief, GM News pays tribute to the ’64 PONTIAC GTO IGNITES THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION @ https://news.gm.com/home.detail.html/Pages/topic/us/en/2025/sep/0917-Retro-Rides-Muscling-future-1964-Pontiac-GTO.html
For more information about the ’64 PONTIAC GTO IGNITES THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION and the complete 1964 Pontiac mid-size model lineup, please visit OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2022/12/28/1964-pontiac-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/
The history of Pontiac’s performance years is covered in DAY ONE, https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day+One+by+Martyn+L.+Schorr