Pontiac GTO

The Pontiac GTO was the idea of Bill Collins, Russell Gee and John DeLorean, who were all engineers at the automaker. In the beginning of 1963, GM management issued a memo banning its divisions from participating in auto racing; this negatively impacted Pontiac's performance image. Since they were barred from going racing, the division shifted its focus to improving street performance.

The creation of the GTO involved the transformation of the Pontiac Tempest. A larger, 389 CI engine (lifted from the larger Bonneville and Catalina) was added, along with rear-wheel drive, and front transmission. By promoting this car as a higher-performance model, Pontiac retained the youth market; the GTO was a direct competitor of the Ford Mustang.

The GTO name itself was DeLorean's idea; he was inspired by Ferrari's 250 GTO, which had seen great success racing in Italy. GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologato", which means that the car was certified to race in a Grand Touring class. The naming drew ire from Ferrari purists, which considered it almost blasphemous. Technically, the GTO was a violation of GM policy that limited the A-body to a maximum engine size of 330 CI. However, the GTO was originally just an option package, which allowed it to skirt the ban. Pontiac manager Elliot Estes signed off on the new model, although others at the automaker did not believe the car would sell. Initial production was limited to just 5,000 vehicles, but as we all know, the Pontiac GTO was one of the most popular cars of the muscle car era.