An option turns a midsize Tempest into the ’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION, and a decade of GTO-badged high-performance Pontiacs.
Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And, from coast to coast, enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac – not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth – essentially created the option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an almost cult-like movement. The GTO’s extensive performance, comfort and convenience “menu” was the envy of the industry. It was the Supercar for all seasons – and reasons.
GM Design created a dynamite follow-up GTO for the 1964 auto show circuit -the tri-power Flamme. Fitted with Cibie rectangular headlamps, below, and under-fender exhaust cutouts and, of course, painted Flame Red, it debuted at the 1964 Chicago Auto Show. It was first shown with a white interior and wire wheel hubcaps. By the time I saw it at the New York show, top, its interior was also red, and trendy chrome-reverse wheels had been installed.
Because the GTO became an overnight sensation, fiction often gets in the way of reality when discussing responsibility for its concept and creation. Pontiac’s primary players were Pete Estes, General Manager and John DeLorean, Chief Engineer. DeLorean’s staff included a number of racing enthusiasts. The concept of putting a 389-inch engine from a full-size Pontiac into a Tempest evolved from meetings DeLorean had with two performance-savvy guys – Bill Collins and Russ Gee who headed up the Experimental Engineering Department. One of the key meetings was not, however, about creating a high-performance street car. It dealt with building a slightly longer wheelbase Tempest to replace the NASCAR Super-Duty 421 stockers that had become history!
Gee revealed that since 326 and 389 engines shared the same motor mounts, a 389 could be shoehorned into a Tempest in about a half-hour. With NASCAR in mind, Russ Gee’s team built a ’63 Tempest 389 prototype with a three-inch longer wheelbase – 115 vs. 112 inches. It worked and it was fast. But DeLorean couldn’t find any support for stock car racing at Pontiac. All efforts shifted to creating a product that would appeal to performance enthusiasts, preferably young ones. That proved to be a far better route.
During the discussion of a unique 389-engined Tempest, Jim Wangers, right, who was a successful Pontiac drag racer and account executive at Pontiac’s advertising agency, McManus, John & Adams, got involved. He also had a relationship with Ace Wilson, owner of Royal Pontiac. Wangers presented youth-market-targeted GTO concepts to Pete Estes. Estes passed them along to DeLorean and the 389 Tempest GTO program was greenlighted. Ferrari originally used the model designation GTO – Grand Turismo Omologato – for its 250 GTO. It means that the vehicle meets the standard specifications for racing in the Grand Touring category.
Prior to the GTO option, the most powerful engine you could get in a Tempest was a 326-inch V-8 rated at 280 horsepower. A GTO optioned Tempest could be equipped with a standard four-barrel 389 rated 325 horsepower at 4,800 rpm or the optional tri-power 389 rated at 348 horsepower at 4,900 rpm. Both engines generated 428 pound-feet of torque. Buyers could choose from three or four-speed manuals with Hurst shifters or a two-speed automatic and limited-slip rears with 3.08 to 3.90 gearing.
Since no GM division had done this before, Pete Estes was apprehensive about how the marketplace would receive the new car. While he did sign off on producing 5,000 units, Estes voiced concern: “If Pontiac doesn’t meet its GTO sales target, it will not be around in 1965.”
Jim Wangers did not share Este’s concerns. McManus, John & Adams came up with advertising for the GTO’s launch. It was the first of many years of GTO campaigns that set the standard for high-performance car advertising. The ads spoke to young enthusiasts – and they responded. By January 1964, dealers had already taken orders for more than 10,000 GTOs, securing the model’s future. Waiting lists were growing longer each day. The GTO emerged as a huge success, with total 1964 GTO production of 25,806 hardtops and 6,644 convertibles.
Check out OVER-DRIVE magazine’s’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION fact sheets @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2022/12/28/1964-pontiac-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/
To track the ’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION, and a decade of GTO-badged high-performance “muscle”, DAY ONE has the story @ https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day One by Martyn L. Schorr
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