The 1967 Pontiac GTO is beyond anyone at GM Authority‘s time. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t understand its profound impact on American motoring history, and recognize what an absolute machine the GTO turned out to be.
Born from the Pontiac LeMans, the GTO arrived to capitalize on baby boomers’ love affair with big V8s, fast cars and driving freshly paved interstate freeways across the country. The 1967 Pontiac GTO was the original muscle car, and for good reason.
A massive 400 cubic-inch (6.5-liter) V8 engine sat under the hood, with a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor system. The mighty powertrain could be had in three flavors: economy, standard and high output. The latter was good for a staunch 360 hp and 438 lb-ft of torque. That’s impressive by today’s standards, as far as we’re concerned.
Front disc brakes, an energy-absorbing steering wheel column and more were added for 1967, too. And, we can’t forget to mention Pontiac’s historic “Wide Track” performance.
Take a stroll through time in the ad above.
Comments
Just like the Chevy SS TV ads. Oh, wait, there aren’t any.
Hmm. He said “the ultimate driving machine.” BMW must’ve liked that well enough to borrow it for 30+ yrs.
And Pontiac’s twin port grille, too.
I never got the Pontiac thing outside of the sweet Trans Am from Smokey & the Bandit. That 1 car aside, I never found anything all that ‘exciting’ from Pontiac. Not their engines nor their designs..
I thought Chevrolet was far more exciting and cool growing up. They had the Tri-5 Bel Air cars, the Chevelle’s, Nova’s, Camaro’s and Corvette’s.. Even the early Impala’s were cool. They had the Smallblock’s and Bigblock’s still popular today. Even GM still uses the term Smallblock for their LS & LT corporate engine’s to try and tie into that old Chevy heritage. In reality, the first ‘muscle car’ was the 1960 Impala with the 409. The Impala Sport in 1963 could be had with a 427 W motor. From what I grew up with, the 65 Chevelle SS396 was the original muscle car of choice.
Matt,. You are selling Pontiac short. Pontiac was the pace setter for GM. In 1956 they offered a dual quad engine. Chevy followed in 1957 with 283 – 270 hp. Pontiac offered tri power in 1957. Chevy followed in 1958 with the 348. And if you ever seen a 1961 Ventura bubble top with 8 lug aluminum wheels and a 421 Super Duty engine you may reconsider your choice. Back then Pontiac with Bunky Knudsen, Smokey Yunick and John Deloren were twisting the rules at GM to make things happen. Those early 421 Tempest opened the door for the GTO and the Chevelle 396. I had a lot of Pontiacs and Chevy’s in my 75 years. They all have their place and all the manufactures participated to make it a great time to remember. Love your Chevy but you can thank Pontiac for helping to make it great.
Ah Matt…but you never met my bought new red ’58 Pontiac Tri-power chieftain convertible–that red rocket would have certainly excited you–I had it from 1958 thru 1961, when I traded it in for my then bought new black ’61 4 speed Impala SS 409 convert–Atlas Bucrons, posi 4.11 gears, plumbers pipes, etc, all the go-fast 1961 tricks–wish I still had both of them now (at 76 years old) !!! DMD
Dcar–all we old guys feel the same way–to us they are still new cars–and not $100,000 trailer queens, museum pieces, and hi-dollar investments–and back then we were able to buy hot new rides every year in 1955 thru 1970 on minimum monthly payments–until insurance, gas, and our increasing adult financial obligations (wife, kids, mortgage, tuition, student loans, etc) elevated them out of reach !!! Ah–to be 20 again!!! DMD
Amen DMD. Remember the days well we learned alot since your ability to pay was only based on your check only. So the car payment had to fall in your budget. Overtime helped with the extra down stroke money. You don’t appreciate the time until you look back.