Pontiac was initially meant to be the performance division of the GM lineup that would fill the price gap between the Chevrolet and Oakland brands.
However, after the “gentlemen’s agreement” and other restrictions on manufacturer involvement in racing, Pontiac was left without a leg in the fight for performance. So naturally, the engineers and executives at Pontiac “voluntarily opted out” of following the rules and found an extraordinary loophole in the company’s comprehensive policy against making high-performance cars.
This sparked the creation of the GTO, which was initially a high-level trim of the Tempest. Of course, we all know that this was the first muscle car that combined a big V8 with the body of a mid-sized sports car.
This GTO is from one of the most famous years to produce one of America’s most iconic performance vehicles, 1969. True fans of the brand will instantly recognize this year as one of the most influential years of the GTO’s production. Of course, this is mainly because of the introduction of the Judge, which boasted all-new styling and power options. This particular vehicle is a Ram Air model with a four-speed manual transmission, making it an incredibly high-performance muscle car for its day.
Oddly enough, the dealer was highly avid about selling the car as it previously had trouble selling, so they approached the new owner to trade in his ’66 GTO for this one. While the car did have some troubles in life as it was in a couple of fender benders, the bright Carousel Red paint still shines through the dust showing the extensive work that the owner has put into it over the years.
Unlike many other muscle cars of the time, this was a daily driver and family car, which is pretty cool as it means that the engine is mainly unabused, and the vehicle itself is still in pretty good shape. After sitting since 1980, this incredible piece of American automotive history has made one last appearance to show the world what an actual classic muscle car is.