GTO is an acronym that might as well stand for speed at this point. Most enthusiasts conjure to mind an image of a V8 Pontiac or a classic Ferrari when the three simple letters are spoken, but the acronym does actually have meaning beyond sounding cool, and we’re here to explain.
So What Does GTO Mean?
GTO quite simply stands for “Gran Turismo Omologato”, which is Italian for “Grand Touring Homologation”. In the 50s and 60s, grand touring cars were an actual class of production-car-based racing defined by the FIA. A homologated grand tourer was simply a car that had enough production models built to qualify for racing in that category.
Which Companies Built Cars Named the GTO?
Ferrari and Pontiac both built models bearing the GTO badge. Ferrari’s initial GTO-monikered car was the 250 GTO, first debuting in 1962, which was a limited-run touring car created primarily for racing. Pontiac created their GTO in 1964, named such to ride the wave of European-sounding allure and performance the Ferrari and other grand tourers had generated. Ferrari again gave its top model a GTO badge in 1984 with the introduction of the 288 GTO, which was a true homologation model intended for FIA-ran racing series. Mitsubishi also sold the 3000GT in Japan as the Mitsubishi GTO in the 90s.
What is the History of the Pontiac GTO?
John DeLorean (yes that DeLorean) greenlit the original 1964 GTO as an option package of the Pontiac Lemans coupe. GM in 1963 had banned the company and all subsidiaries from competing in motorsports, hoping to avoid antitrust regulation from the relatively anti-corporate Kennedy administration. Along with this ban came a punitive and difficult internal edict – for every cubic inch of engine displacement, the car’s curb weight had to increase ten pounds. The original GTO, built by slamming a 389 cubic inch V8 into the relatively lightweight Lemans coupe, absolutely demolished this rule.
DeLorean’s plan to circumvent these rules was to make the GTO an option package for the base Lemans without even telling his bosses at GM the car was being offered first. The Lemans GTO was a smash hit, selling 5,000 examples before corporate executives found out he’d approved it. After seeing the sales numbers, the GTO was officially approved, and in 1966, it was made into its own model, rather than being an option package for the Lemans.
The name continued in various forms until 1974, when the oil crisis drove Pontiac to introduce the GTO name as an option package for the rebadged Chevy Nova. Newly introduced federal regulations, combined with a lack of desire on GM’s part to prolong the muscle car wars, made this final GTO lower power and less appealing to consumers, and it was discontinued.
In 2004, hoping to capitalize on the upswing of muscle-car nostalgia, Pontiac imported a V8 Holden coupe from GM’s Australian facilities and rebadged it as a GTO for the American market, but it only lasted three model years before it, too, was discontinued.
Car Autance’s Glossary for GTOs
Welcome to Autance School!
GTO
Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for Grand Touring Homologation.
Homologation
A word meaning official approval from a certifying organization. As it relates to the Ferrari 288 GTO, the car was approved by the FIA for racing in certain groups after meeting technical and production number related requirements.
FIA
FIA stands for the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, French for International Automobile Federation. They are the governing body and regulatory authority on many forms of global racing series, including Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, and Formula E.
The Questionnaire
Car Autance answers all your burning questions.
Q: Did the original Pontiac GTO ever have an official grand touring homologation version?
A: As a result of GM’s no-racing edict issued in 1963 right before the original GTO was produced, it wasn’t until much later the car ever hit a track with the approval of General Motors.
Q: What was the most recent GTO offered for sale?
A: In 2004, towards the very end of Pontiac’s life (rest in peace), the GTO name was resurrected and given to the rebadged Holden Monaro when it was sold in the USA as a captive import. The car was sold until 2006, making it the final GTO offered.
Q: Did the 288 GTO ever compete in Group B?
A: Unfortunately for all those great compilation videos of old film reels from the mid-80s, no. The 288 GTO Evoluzione, a tube-framed fire-breathing monster based on the regular 288 GTO, was in production right as the Group B class was disbanded due to driver fatalities, and so it never raced.
Video on the GTO
If you’d like a deeper dive on just how important the Pontiac GTO, James from Donut Media has a great summary of this automotive legend at the link below!
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