Pontiac GTO News: GTO will return after all redesigned for 2008

[fo44rd]

one sold on ebay for 18 or 19, something the other day...it was yellow.

[Vintalage]

GM plans all-new Pontiac GTO
Sales of 400-hp coupe take off
July 28, 2005

BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

General Motors Corp. will stop building the Australian version of its Pontiac GTO performance coupe later this year, but the U.S. model will remain in production at least through the 2006 model year, and an all-new model is in the works, a Pontiac spokesman said.

After a slow start in 2004, U.S. sales of the 400-horsepower GTO have taken off this year. Pontiac sold 87% more GTOs in the first half of 2005 than for the same period last year.

The car is based on the Australian Monaro coupe, which went into production in 2001. GM's Australian unit, Holden, will drop the Monaro this fall to concentrate on getting a new model of its higher-selling Commodore rear-drive sedan into production. The new Commodore goes into production in mid-2006.

The Monaro and GTO are built in the same plant in Elizabeth, near Melbourne.

The next-generation GTO will come from a new global family of rear-wheel-drive cars, Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson said.

GM insiders say that car's appearance will be more eye-catching than the somewhat anonymous GTO. The new model is likely to go into production in 2008 and will probably be built in Australia.

http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gto28e_20050728.htm

- Detroit Free Press

[elim]

It's basically saying the same thing, but there was another article on cnn.com about the GTO:

New Pontiac GTO on the way
Report: A more exciting redesign of the current GTO likely to arrive for 2008

July 29, 2005; Posted: 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If the looks of the Pontiac GTO are a little too bland for your taste, there will be a new, more exciting-looking version in a couple of years, a Detroit newspaper reports.

The current Pontiac GTO is a modified version of a car built by GM's Australian subsidiary, Holden. The car is sold in very similar form as the Holden Monaro in Australia. Holden will stop production of the Monaro later this year.

Production of the GTO, which has a different grille and a more powerful engine -- the same 400-horsepower engine used in the Chevrolet Corvette -- will continue at least through the 2006 model year, the Detroit Free Press reported. Both the Holden Monaro and Pontiac GTO cars are built in the same factory in Australia. The GTO's engines are exported to Austrialia from the U.S,

The next-generation GTO will share much of its engineering with a new GM family of rear-wheel-drive cars, according to Jim Hopson, a Pontiac spokesperson quoted in the story.

The new car is expected to begin production in 2008. likely in Australia, and it will be more striking in appearance than the current GTO, the newspaper said, citing unnamed company sources.

Inside Line, an automotive Website produced by CNN.com automotive partner Edmunds.com, is reporting that the new GTO could be a four-door car with a coupe-like profile. That conjecture is based on information from sources at GM and other companies involved with the project, a spokeswoman for Edmunds.com said.

Any details of the car reported in the news media, beyond the mere fact that is being worked on, are "pure conjecture," Hopson told CNN/Money.

"The next-generation GTO will fulfill the promise of the current car," Hopson was quoted as saying in the Free Press story. "We have every intention of getting it to the street as soon as possible."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/07/29/new_gto/index.html

[AMRAAM4]

hopefully in the process GM doesn't put their typical cheap ass interior in it and destroy what they have now. In fact...how about they contract Holden to design that part!!

[Ant]

Inside Line, an automotive Website produced by CNN.com automotive partner Edmunds.com, is reporting that the new GTO could be a four-door car with a coupe-like profile.

............

[02andahalfgt]

GM insiders say that car's appearance will be more eye-catching than the somewhat anonymous GTO.

Oh no, they're gonna give it some ugly ass make over.

[bigbenSC]

I'm afraid it will be retro. Look forwards, not backwards!

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by AMRAAM4

and destroy what they have now.

What... a 1997 Cadillac Catera 2 door with a 6.0 V8 wedged in?

Yeah, that would suck if they updated it.

[Braves299]

alllllright there's wayyy too much info here. So they're not killing it afterall?

[Pipelayaz]

I spotted an article in my GM High-Tech Mag. It says that they have a GNX concept by Dean Hodel for an 07' model. It looks GTO/Monaro with a monochromatic black finish, 18'' Rims and classic Buick Portholes. The engine would be a 3.6L DOHC twin turbo V-6 pumping out 450 horses and 465 ft. lbs. of tourqe with either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed auto not to mention an ALL WHEEL DRIVE PLATFORM.

This was in GM High-Tech for August. IMO I wouldn't hold my breath for this ride to be developed.

[Irate]

GM will most likely ditch the whole GTO platform and replace it with a 4-cylinder, 4-door hybrid economy car with bland looks in hopes of appeasing 98% of the US.

[edit] Forgot to mention it will have bench seats with a 2-speed automatic. Here's the concept photo from GM insider news (its on the right)

[AMRAAM4]

Originally Posted by Mike3800

What... a 1997 Cadillac Catera 2 door with a 6.0 V8 wedged in?

Yeah, that would suck if they updated it.

the jokes are getting real lame and tiresome, especially considering that attempt made zero focking sense because you took that from a sentence I was talking about interiors in.

But hey, you have a Cavalier, whoa is me.

[GregFarz78]

All-new all-American Mustang fighter



By Editors of Motor Trend
Photography by Marc Cook
Motor Trend, May 2005

This one's a winner -- The design for the new GTO coming to Pontiac showrooms in 2007 as a 2008 model. The big, rear-drive sport coupe will be designed and built in the U.S., possibly at GM's Hamtramck or Wilmington plants, and it's likely to show up in concept form at a 2006 auto show, probably Detroit in January.

The new GTO looks more muscular than the today's model, with a fastback roofline and strong tension in the profile and pumped fenders. Overall length is down 0.8 inch to 189. The only retro nods on this car are the wide-track Pontiac-style front end and the twin hood scoops. Ironically, the design is being done under the direction of Australian Mike Simcoe, who designed the current GTO as a Holden Monaro in 1997 and is now responsible for all GM North American cars.



----

GTO Regeneration: Next-gen Pontiac muscle car reportedly will hit market in '08


Not the actual car, it's a photoshop

BOB GRITZINGER
Posted Date: 8/3/05

What you see in this illustration is a fairly close rendition of what we can expect when the next-generation Pontiac GTO hits the market in 2008. We say “fairly close” because we’ve seen the super-secret spy photos upon which it is based, and the actual shots show a sleeker, wider, lower and, frankly, far more appealing car.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is General Motors’ Aussie division Holden reportedly may not start cranking out these future Goats until 2008, a full two years after production ceases on the 2006 Holden Monaro-based GTO.

One more tidbit: It’s not shown here, but we hear GM is considering doing this GTO as a four-door coupe, using rear-hinged rear-access doors without visible handles

[Pipelayaz]

4 Door Chargers and now possably a new 4 door GTO? WTF might as well come out with a 4 door Camaro. I'll pass on that concept and the wheels along with it.

[TJ95GAGT]

ugh I'm tired of hearing "4 door coupe" design. Why cant anyone just make a plain COUPE!! There are plenty of 4 door sedan cars for people to choose from.

[02andahalfgt]

Originally Posted by GregFarz78

That's one hell of a photoshop! The overall design isn't too bad, as long as they don't make radical changes before it hits production.

[GregFarz78]

meh I dont get what everyones beef about having a "coupe" is its still gonna be a badass ride, coupes are annoying with their heavy doors and inconvience for getting passengers in the back seat. Plus I think they're talking about doing a Saturn like door not a true 4 door

[Irate]

whatever greg, go buy an 80's minivan

[Roush GT]

4 door's yeah good thinking GM

[STRMurphy]

Someof us dont mind the 4 door option... I personally have been told by my wife that the next car I buy has to be a four dorr to support having kids and places to put them, so I was happy to see the charger come out as a four door, but still a powerful car. The GTO, as speculated here, would be just as perfect for a guy like me, although they should develope 2 and 4 door models to support different people's styles.