Pontiac LeMans Vs GTO: Are They Really Just The Same Car?

When General Motors founded Pontiac in 1926, it probably didn't expect the new brand to struggle. But that's what it did, barely surviving its first few years due to the Great Depression and an inability to compete with other brands at the time. However, Pontiac eventually found its stride in the 1960s with cars like the Tempest LeMans, largely due to the famed GTO package introduced in 1964.

The 1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO is said to have started the muscle car era, at least if you ask GM. But it's honestly quite difficult to argue this fact — the Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO had the looks and power to finally catch America's attention, and GM sold 32,450 Tempest LeMans GTOs in 1964 alone. While the GTO, which stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, debuted as a package for the Tempest LeMans, the two are quite different when it comes to what's under the hood — and that's all thanks to John Z. DeLorean.

By the 1950s, Pontiac was making a name for itself in NASCAR. But the brand faced another challenge in 1957 when carmakers in the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) agreed to slow their roll on performance-focused advertising and focus more on legal speeds and safety features. This eventually led to GM ceasing all race programs and discontinuing race-focused engines like the Super Duty 421 by the 1960s. While the Tempest LeMans looked good, it lacked performance because of this ban.

Enter John DeLorean, an eccentric GM employee who eventually became the head of Pontiac. DeLorean was a young visionary who saw the Tempest LeMans' potential; it just needed an extra something. The original Tempest LeMans came with either a 215 or 326-CI V8, which fit into GM's engine displacement regulations at the time. The AMA required cars to weigh at least 10 pounds for every cubic inch of engine displacement, and the Tempest was around 2,800 pounds in 1963. However, the AMA didn't have regulations for option packages; thus, DeLorean and his team went with a 389-CI V8 engine with dual exhausts for the GTO. This brought the vehicle to an impressive 325 hp, rocketing the GTO from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.7 seconds. There was also a Tri-Power engine option with 348 hp.

Pontiac's sales manager mistakenly believed nobody would be interested in such a beast, limiting production to 5,000 units. However, GM sold more than 32,000 GTOs in its first year. The GTO started a muscle car revolution and is easily one of the most iconic cars from Pontiac's long history.