Autoblog

Spot any similarities? Holden surprised and delighted when it rolled out the Coupe 60 at the Melbourne Auto Show this past week. Motor Trend put two and two together and dug up some three-year-old photos that show off essentially the same car wearing a Pontiac suit, instead. The nose on the original concept shows what GM was planning for the next-gen GTO at the time. We're glad the prototype styling was deemed too expensive for production; the world wasn't ready for a modern interpretation of the 1982 J2000.

The Coupe 60 started life as Pontiac's replacement for the sales-proof GTO, but Motor Trend reports that development stopped when GM went full bore at getting its next-gen full-size GMT900 trucks to market early. The reappropriation of this past work to create the stunning new Holden show car could signal a return of the Monaro, which could trickle down to North America as another page in the G8 brochure, or a new GTO, but don't start holding your breath yet.

[Source: Motor Trend, Photo: Motor Trend]

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What's the best way to ruin a classic muscle car? Just slap on some gaudy 22-inch chrome wheels and give it a colorful chameleon paint job. While we'd much rather have a pristine example in showroom condition, you have to admit this 1967 Pontiac GTO is... unique. After all, Samuel L. Jackson himself has been behind the wheel in the movie "XXX State of the Union" (we think Ice Cube, too) and it even has functional rocket launchers. We're not sure when you'd ever be able to use them, but they would still be cool to have, you know, in case. The car also comes with a custom interior and more gauges than you'll know what to do with, an Air Ride suspension, V8, and automatic transmission. That's good, because we doubt whoever buys this car will know how to drive stick.

Thanks for the tip, Jordan!

[Source: eBay Motors]

We visited this issue in February, when Winding Road speculated Pontiac would get a Camaro spinoff, but now Car and Driver is weighing in. With the imminent return of the Chevy Camaro, many Poncho fans have wondered about a possible return of the screaming chicken, as well. Pontiac's last attempt at reviving a storied model (GTO) met with mixed results. The GTO was supposed to be a slam dunk for Pontiac. Take an existing rear drive muscular platform, add a few Pontiac trim pieces and a GTO badge, and voilà, instant success. Well, it didn't quite go as planned and GTO sales were rather tepid. Not that it wasn't a good car, especially in 6.0 form, but it didn't really set hearts aflutter, especially compared to the wildly successful retro Mustang.

So will Pontiac get a new GTO, or maybe a Firebird instead? With the G8 coming to replace the Bonneville and Grand Prix, a suitable RWD platform is already approved for US consumption. And of course, it's also underpinning that hot new Camaro. So if Pontiac gets a new muscle coupe, will it show up as a goat or a chicken? That's what Car and Driver asked Pontiac. After a long silence, C and D finally got some answers. Surprisingly, they seem to point towards a new GTO. They based this on Bob Lutz's own words: "No carbon copy of the Camaro will make it into any other GM-brand showroom" is how they put it. They also point out that while a Firebird would have to be essentially the same as a Camaro, a GTO from the same platform could be bigger and different enough to claim its own place in the market, maybe more of a G8 coupe. Whichever badge this future Pontiac sport coupe wears, it should get the same 261-hp 3.6-liter DOHC V-6 or 362-hp LS2 6.0-liter V-8 options as the G8. They would be offered with five or six-speed automatics, respectively, but six-speed manuals should be available, as well. Tough choice, really – a Firebird that would be a restyled Camaro, or a GTO that could go its own way. Which would you choose?

[Source: Car and Driver]

When you read about gearhead guys -- like the kind who put two engines in an Integra -- it's like, "What else is new?" But when you read about gearhead gals, especially the kind who have created the car you see above, it's like, "Uh ... call me."

Michelle bought a 1977 280Z on eBay that had been turned into a Ferrari 250 GTO replica with an Alpha1 kit. She and her best friend Haley then turned it into a replica unlike any other. They changed every single body panel, made a lot of the cosmetic parts functional like the vents in the rear and the trap door on the nose, and fashioned completely new parts like the rear trunk. Deeper fabrication efforts include stretching the wheelbase, moving the firewall back, and making the car RHD so it's not like other American replicas. Then, not happy with the 5-speed V6, they grabbed a V12 lump from a BMW 850 CSI, made it dry sump and installed manual Dellorto throttles, then put it in the engine bay they revised for better balance and a lower center of gravity. They've done a lot more as well -- click the "Read" link to check out all the details and pics. If you want to know the way to an Autoblogger's heart, this is a great start.

[Source: Carscoop]

Old Audis are cool, and old racing Audis are even cooler. A Swedish Audi fanatic seems to think so, too, and has gone to extreme lengths to transform a workaday Audi 90 into the IMSA GTO version of that car. Not wanting to go the stripe-and-bodykit route, this Audi's flares were painstakingly constructed from many pieces of metal, intricately tacked into place. Replica body pieces like splitters were created in composite after measurements of an original car were taken, and the authentically nutty looking rims are custom-modified VW pieces. The doors still open, despite 8 additional inches of width, and the amount of work that went into the body modifications is truly incredible. It looks like a scale model was built first, and once the form was perfected, it was "blown up" to the actual car - we don't know Svenska, and translators aren't terribly useful. Motivation is provided by an A8's 4.2 liter V8, which must make the replica pretty zippy, but probably not as fast as those IMSA cars were. Still, though, it's a hell of a thing to see lurking in your rearview, and the handiwork is truly impressive. We see the most insane stuff coming out of Sweden – must be something in the water aquavit. AudiMotorSport's got galleries of the build here.

[Source: AudiMotorSport.se via German Car Scene]

Hot on the heels of last year's unique Ferrari P4/5, built for James Glickenhaus, comes this year's Specially Built Ferrari for a North American Customer. The above is a rendering of what will eventually be dubbed the Ferrari 600 GTO. There has never been a car for which the letters 'GTO' signified anything other than automotive happiness. When those letters follow anything with a Ferrari badge, they are all the sweeter. The 600 GTO will keep its mod-cons inside, but wear nothing other than carbon fiber outside. In addition to the 285 kg in lost weight, it also gets a lowered suspension, aero modifications, and almost 25% more downforce front and rear at 200 kph. Hope Rumor has it that the person behind the commission wants to revive the Ferrari North American Race Team (NART). Founded by Ferrari dealer Luigi Chinetti in 1958, the team raced until 1982 with some of the finest Ferraris and drivers the world has known.

Three 600 GTO's were commissioned nine months ago. Its coming out party will be at the Frankfurt Auto Show on September 12. Fingers. Crossed. Now.

Thanks for the tip, Serge!

[Source: StreetFire]

Back before engine bays were tightly packed, feline friends would sometimes hop up on a warm engine in the cooler weather. Proximity to the cooling fan would occasionally lead to ah, colorful results. We're sure that no tigers were harmed in the filming of this '65 GTO commercial that the guys at WheelsTV dug up. The Pontiac line was sold with the "Wide-Track Tiger" descriptor. The advertising guys did a nice job getting the Poncho to eat the tiger, though, and it's always fun to waste a little time watching vintage advertising. We can just imagine all the pointless ass-covering fig leaves that'd be supered at the bottom of the picture were this ad to play today.

[Source: WheelsTV]

Not only were the musclecars of the 70's relentlessly cool, but the TV commercials for them were super-entertaining . We showed you the killer GTO Judge spot featuring Paul Revere and the Raiders already, but this one's even more significant. It's for the 1970 GTO featuring the optional Vacuum Operated Exhaust (VOE), a.k.a. The Humbler. The option was briefly available from November '69 to January 1970.

The way it worked was simple: the driver pulled a lever on the dash that relieved backpressure and increased horsepower while adding a delightfully vicious exhaust note. The commercial you see above is the only one created for the Humbler, and it aired just once -- during Super Bowl IV. In it, an unnamed John Q. Badass rolls into the local drive-in, unleashes The Humbler, and becomes The Man instantaneously.

The car sounds spectacular, and it's all set to a special "Humbler" song that was obviously written just for the spot. Sadly, after it aired, GM brass ordered Pontiac to kill the option immediately and pull the commercial off the air. Thankfully, the miracle known as YouTube lets us give the old-school brass the finger and watch it over and over again, which is exactly what we've been doing since we found it. Enjoy.

[Source: YouTube]

Pontiac will continue it's GT class racing efforts with the new GXP.R, a car that replaces the successful GTO.R (pictured). The GXP.R is being tested today for the very first time in Florida. Pontiac is looking to rack up wins, so it's decided to continue its development partnership with Pratt & Miller Engineering who spent most of last season working on the new car. The GXP.R, photos of which GM has yet to release, is set to bow at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona carrying primary sponsorship from Leighton Reese's Banner Engineering. We're not sure on what production car the GXP.R will be based, if it will remain the GTO despite that car's last year of production being 2006, or if it will change to a new vehicle entirely.

The number 06 GXP.R is the result of Pontiac's GT class championship program evolving after campaigning the GTO.R in 2005 and 2006. Leighton Reese Racing will be campaigning a pair of GXP.R cars from track to track in an effort to bring home checkered flags for itself and GM. Reese has been loyal to GM since forming his racing enterprise in 1986, and will drive one of the two GXP.Rs, along wilth factory aces Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: GM]

The idea of refitting your set of North American wheels to resemble its domestic market counterpart is not new. One of the more popular conversions has been transforming the Nissan 240SX back into the JDM-spec Silvia from which it sprung. Until the SEMA show last week, however, we were unaware one could do this to car other than those that came from the East. A company called JHP Vehicle Enhancements, however, had a Pontiac GTO on display that, besides the incorrect location of the steering wheel, was a dead ringer for the Holden Monaro.

We took a week off from featuring a RR of the Day to focus on SEMA, so imagine our shock when we return to find a privately owned Goat-turned-Monaro in the Autoblog Flickr Pool. Owned by Flickr member Julius C., this late model GTO suffered an unfortunate up-close encounter with a guard rail one rainy day that created the perfect opportunity to practice some Aussie-inspired rhinoplasty. The damaged front end was swapped for a Holden Monaro look-a-like from JHP and a Gravana hood with two scoops was added for good measure. Check out Julius C.'s own Flickr account for a journal of the car's transmogrification.

When the GTO arrived back in the U.S. it was harpooned for being too vanilla in the looks department. While the Holden Monaro isn't exactly the Rocky Road of vehicle design, driving a GTO that looks like one will surely turn the heads of those in the know. To everyone else, the badge re-reengineered Goat will continue to be the same 6.0-liter sleeper it's always been.

We're back with the RR of the Day feature after a week-long hiatus for SEMA. All this week we'll feature unrelated rides that catch our eye, but we're returning with a theme next week and that theme is "Best Autocross Car". If you've got a hot AutoXer, join the Autoblog Flickr Pool and submit your ride for consideration. More detailed instructions can be found after the jump.