1965 Pontiac GTO

edited by David Barth, 22 February 2009.
Courtesy The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Photos were taken in January 2009.

Sponsor: Bruce C. Klink

Sponsor's statement:
"This car brings back sweet memories of my junior and senior years in high school. I am surprised that I didn't hurt myself in this car, but I am here to tell others what a great car it was to have in high school."

The Pontiac GTO has been hailed as the first muscle car. Though other cars had combined a lightweight body with the big engine of a full-sized car, none had done it with the same flair. The GTO was a complete package with both show and go. GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologato," though it was joked that it actually stood for the car's appetite for Gas, Tires, and Oil. Ferrari first applied the GTO designation to cars built for the limited production racing class in 1962. Nicknamed the "goat," it is speculated that the name came from those trying to pronounce "G-T-O."

Hype surrounding the GTO was Beatlesque. Tapping the emergent youth culture, Jim Wangers, one of the creators of the GTO, penned the Ronnie & the Daytonas' hit song, "Lil' GTO." Thom McAnn Shoes lured young men into their stores with GTO shoes boasting soles treaded to match the GTO accelerator. Faberge marketed GTO cologne. GTOs were the basis of show cars for TV's rock groups Monkees and Paul Revere and the Raiders. Not the quickest or the fastest of the muscle cars, the strong image and solid performance of the GTO made it among the most memorable.

Model: Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO
Body Style: 2-door hardtop
Original Factory Price: $2,855
Brake Horsepower: 360
Displacement: 389 cubic inches
Bore: 4 1/16 inches
Stroke: 3 inches
Cylinders: V-8
Wheelbase: 115 inches
Manufacturer: Pontiac Motor Division, General Motors Corporation
Location: Pontiac, Michigan, USA

This car was purchased with funds raised through the annual Corvette Raffle sponsored by the Friends of the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum and the Crawford Woomen's Committee.