1969 Pontiac GTO Races 1973 Corvette At The Strip: Video
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There’s no shortage of performance models when it comes to GM’s past, with a long list of iconic nameplates to choose from. Now, we’re watching two of these GM go-fast machines duke it out on the drag strip with the following racing video between a Pontiac GTO and Chevy Corvette.
Clocking in at about six minutes, 30 seconds, the video comes to us from the Cars And Zebras YouTube channel, and features all the usual C&Z elements, including a walkaround for both vehicles, specs and history, and some racing action. For those readers who want to jump straight to the drag strip, skip ahead to the three-minute, seven-second mark.
With that all covered, let’s take a closer look at the competitors, starting with the 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air. Under that Ram Air decal on the hood is a 400 cubic-inch Ram Air III V8 engine, which sports a compression ratio of 10.75:1, and output ratings of 366 horsepower at 5,100 rpm and 445 pound-feet of torque at 3,600 rpm. Sending that muscle to the rear axle is a four-speed manual transmission, which feeds a set of 3.90 gears. Curb weight with driver on board is a relatively heavy 4,034 pounds.
The next GM machine in this matchup is a 1973 Chevy Corvette 454, which is showing up to the party rocking an upgraded LS4 454 cubic-inch V8 engine good for a factory-rated 275 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 390 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 rpm. Compression ratio comes to 8.5:1, with a three-speed automatic transmission on hand for the cog swaps. A set of 3.08 gears are in back. Curb weight with driver is set at 3,945 pounds.
Notably, both the Pontiac GTO and the Chevy Corvette run in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race series, which does allow for a few modifications. The question is – which will come out the winner? Hit play to find out for yourself.
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Awesome race
Awesome cars, too. I miss the days you could identify a car/brand just looking at it. To me these cars really don’t look that dated?
I owned a ’68 GTO w/4 speed close ratio Hurst T Shifter in candy apple red with a black vinyl top.
Sold it during a weak moment in 1980 w/144,000 miles. Ran like a bat out of hell. I wish I never sold it.
GM has destroyed so many great brands…
And with how GM Kills Americans, Lies about it, then pays Hundreds of Millions to their defense lawyers to Lie about it, and $20 Million to their CEO Mary Barra to Lie about it, you’d almost start to wonder why they try to stay in the automobile business.
Lets see which brand GM destroys next.
GM’s decline began when they starting promoting people who were not “car-guys” to the Divisional General Manager positions, who didn’t have a clue about developing cars with genuine appeal to the public. The Pontiac Aztec is a classic example( eg, how did this ugly-ass vehicle fit in with a division that was built on a performance image?). When I worked for Chevrolet in the late 1970’s, GM had nearly 60% of the domestic U.S. car market and no other car company was close to them in size or market-leading vehicles. Fast-forward 20 years to the early 2000’s and their market share had dropped to a third of that, and would have sunken even lower if the CEO hadn’t brought in a true car guy in Bob Lutz to try to reinvigorate their car line-up.