Pontiac GTO

The GTO was a muscle car marketed by Pontiac from the sixties to seventies, revived decades later based on the Holden Commodore. It was created in 1964 based on the Pontiac Tempest, and was marketed as the first muscle car. The idea was to create a smaller car with a big engine. The GTO gets its name from "gran turismo omoligato", Italian for "grand touring qualified". The name was also used on a Ferrari sports car. The original GTO competed in stock car racing, including its late sixties Pontiac Judge model. This special edition was named for a popular sketch on the latenight comedy show Laugh-In. The revival model lasted for only a few years before Pontiac was discontinued. General Motors had been planning to import the Commodore "Ute", a car/pickup hybrid similar to the Chevrolet El Camino before Pontiac was dropped. The revived GTO was used in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series. A revived GTO had been first conceived in 1999 with a concept car designed with the original's "Coke bottle" shape as the inspiration. The GTO also competed in the Pirelli World Challenge.