I'm not a "racer", but I do like cars, especially Pontiacs...
I currently have a 1969 Firebird... many don't know this but Pontiac had it's own engines until 1980 when they started putting in chevy's and "GM" engines... What even more people don't know is the power of the original pontiac engine. It provides huge amounts of torque at the lower end, great for strip racing and neck breaking... What else is that Pontiac engines were truely great racing engines... There were no small blocks or big blocks... All pontiac engines are the same dimension externally... you can't look at a 350 and 455 and tell the difference right off hand. The great thing about this is that things like heads and intakes and can beswitched from an old 350 without worry. Long live 350,389,400s,421,428, and the 455's!!!
Anyways about the new GTO, it's a rebadge of GM's Holden's special vehicle division... which was the product of GM Americas designing. This car is aiming at entering pontiac into competition with BMW, as it once use to, so I've heard way back in the day.. What some of you may not know is that there's rumor talking of a Callaway modified LS1 generating over 400 hp, stock! I think it's a nice step in the right direction.
Yes, I'm sad they will be branding the legendardy GTO name on this. Nothing can be ever marketed with it's name to do what it did the first time... When the GTO was first introduced, it was simply a lemans with the HUGE bonneville engine.. Simple equation big engine, smalle car.. John Delorean did this without permission from GM, but how coudl they say no when sales went through the floor..
I think this GTO is gonna have a great engine in a compact car... and yes all of my friends are ricers.. it's sad what I see sometimes... I guess this ricer era reminds me of the mopars in the 60'ss... Lot's of bolt on's. You don't see that many complete engines gone through in ricers.. just things like "cold air intakes", chips, etc..
BTW, what's up with spoilers on front wheel drive cars...
OH and the firebird and camaros will be back, you know it... GM so far looks like the strongest one in this detroit downfall. Mustangs could disappear simply from Ford going out of biz... The F-bodies just couldn't compete with all the high school girls wanting mustangs...80% six cylinders...