THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Posted on November 5, 2023November 5, 2023 by MartynL

Hagerty’s Greg Ingold guides us through the second generation of the Supercar that started it all in THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO. Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And in 1964 enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an...

’64 PONTIAC GTO IGNITES THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION

Posted on March 12, 2023 by MartynL

1964 was all about the birth of big-engined, muscular midsize models, and the ’64 PONTIAC GTO IGNITES THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION! Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an almost cult-like m...

ROYAL PONTIAC’S LIGHTWEIGHT GTO.

Posted on March 7, 2023March 9, 2023 by MartynL

Back in the day, Motown’s Van Seymour, a GM employee, was a “sleeper” driver of ROYAL PONTIAC’S LIGHTWEIGHT GTO. Few people even knew that Pontiac built lightweight GTOs for racers across the country. It’s a missing link in Pontiac history. Ace Wilson’s Royal Pontiac was one of the brand’s “connected” dealers and sponsored under-the-radar “sleeper” drivers to promote the dealership and brand on the street and at drag strips. Van Seymour raced his GTO in B/Stock in 1965 and B/MP from 1967 throug...

PONTIAC GTO: AMERICA’S ORIGINAL MUSCLE CAR

Posted on August 1, 2021 by MartynL

Musclecar Maven and Hagerty contributor Scott Oldham blogs about 15 facts you might not know about PONTIAC GTO: AMERICA’S ORIGINAL MUSCLE CAR. In the early spring of 1963, during a “what if” session at GM’s Milford, Michigan, Proving Grounds, a small team of Pontiac engineers led by John Z. DeLorean realized the 389-cubic-inch V-8 from the full-size Bonneville would fit easily in the new midsize Tempest. A week later, they were doing burnouts in the first prototype, and the car widely acc...

RAM AIR V GTO – THE MYTH & THE MAGIC!

Posted on February 21, 2019 by MartynL

Like Chevrolet’s ZL1 Corvette and Buick’s Stage II Gran Sports, Pontiac’s Tunnel Port Ram Air V has been the subject of urban legends for decades. It’s all about myth & magic. According to Tom Nell, a Special Projects Engineer at Pontiac in 1971, “Pontiac’s Ram Air V or Mark V was the first Pontiac engine since the 1963 Super-Duty 421 to be developed around the concept of performance and durability, outside the realm of normal usage.” Many of the same high-performance engineers responsib...

ONE OF NONE: PONTIAC RAM AIR V GTO!

Posted on May 13, 2018 by MartynL

Like Chevrolet’s ZL1 Corvette and Buick’s Stage II Gran Sport, Pontiac’s Tunnel Port Ram Air V is part myth, part magic, and has been the subject of urban legends for decades. According to Tom Nell, a Special Projects Engineer at Pontiac in 1971, “Pontiac’s Ram Air V or Mark V was the first Pontiac engine since the 1963 Super-Duty 421 to be developed around the concept of performance and durability, outside the realm of normal usage.” Many of the same high-performance engineers responsible f...

AULT PARK: 38TH ANNUAL CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE!

Posted on June 24, 2015May 15, 2017 by MartynL

Our Mike Matune discovered the Ault Park Concours in Cincinnati, OH only a few years ago and has been looking forward to covering it ever since. Tom Shaughnessy brought the famous “Caballo II” from California to grace the field at Ault Park. This car, top, is another piece of real Americana, having been hot rodder Ak Miller’s effort to take on the world’s best. Starting with a Frank Kurtis frame, it has a Jack Sutton crafted aluminum body. Under hood you find a Hilborn fuel-injected early ...