The on-again off-again announcements for the new GTO are enough to drive you nuts. When last we checked, it was on again. So that got the HPP staff thinking: What if it actually does happen? And what if after telling us for the last few years that retro styling was out, given the success of the Mustang and hype surrounding the Camaro and Challenger concepts, Pontiac decides that retro is back in?
What could a new GTO look like if it incorporated some of the styling cues of the legends that preceded it? Here was our logic for deciding which elements were necessary: We looked at history. The '66 and '67 models sold more than any other year at 96,946 and 81,722, respectively (except for '68 at 87,684), and they were very similar in appearance. Each is still very popular in the hobby. Just look at event coverage and the results for proof. Does that mean their styling cues applied to the new GTO would be an instant homerun for Pontiac? Who knows, but it's a place to start.
In designing the front end, HPP's Ted Alexander and the staff (me) discussed how to best integrate the styling cues of the '66-'67 without it looking tacked on. One way was to employ the stacked-headlight theme using modern projector beams recessed in the grille instead of setting the headlights outside of the grille like the original design. This way, the look is reminiscent of the '66-'67, right down to grille-mounted parking lights and the GTO emblem, without overselling it. Another advantage? It would be very easy to make the beams hideaway as well so that the nose may even resemble the '68-'69 model and be as aesthetically pleasing yet distinctive with the lights hidden or exposed.
The hood, mostly flat except for a raised central rib like the '66-'67, has a stylized and slightly raised version of the '65-'67 hoodscoop. We refrained from the ironing board design of the '68-'70 cars because we were trying to hold true to the earlier models. The remainder of the nose blends late-model styling cues for the bumper; air intake; and the integrated foglights with the classic split-grille theme, pinched in the middle and extending outward toward muscular fenders.
These strong blade-like front fenders flow into a door and quarter design with the classic coke-bottle kick-ups just ahead of the rear wheels. Chrome trim reminiscent of the '67 GTO accentuates the area, and a vintage GTO crest drives home the kinship to "The Great One." Exhaust splitters peeking from beneath the rear quarters on each side suggest the '64-'65 exhaust-tip option, or even '72 if you like.
Flared front and rear wheelwells add not only a burly lowered stance but ample room for (18x9-inch front and 18x10-inch rear) aluminum Honeycomb wheels. Once again proving that some designs are timeless, designer Bill Porter's Honeycombs could finally be realized as he had originally envisioned them-in lightweight yet strong aluminum construction. These even have a deeper dish for a meaner look, as well as fatter tires, large enough to fill the wheelwells and wide enough to provide the tried-and-true Wide-Track look.
While the rearview mirror and marker lenses are modern, the door handles hearken to the Grand Prix of '69-'72, and the roofline is designed to somewhat mimic that of the semi-fastback motif of the '66-'67 GTOs-not an easy task on a long-hood/short-deck design when the original was just the opposite. The idea is to have the rear window recessed to complete the look. Speaking of the hindquarters, though they can't be seen here, as you may have guessed, slotted taillamps would provide the primary theme. There you have our exercise in retro GTO body-design.
What about drivetrain and suspension specifics? Well, imagination combined with the leaked information on future GM platforms and powertrains should provide hours of speculation possibilities for all of us. Of course there is a very likely chance that the new GTO will look nothing like this, but it's fun to sometimes just let your imagination run wild.
Do you have a great idea for what the new GTO should look like? If you do and you can draw it well, send it in (e-mail to tomdemauro@alltel.net) and we may publish it.