What does GTO mean? And who used it first?

Homoligated. More than 25 examples built. GT car "Omologato"

 

first used by Ferrari, in the 250 GTO, I think.

Art

 

Tru but it's a FIA designation that was used by Ferrari (62) before GM (64) used it on their Souped Up "Le Mans".

 

I believe that Road Track tested the '64 GTO vs. the Ferrari in early '64, and the Ferrari GTO was by far the faster of the two.

Pontiac has been pretty public (or was pretty public) that they took the name from Ferrari.

 

C & D.

 

That Pontiac wasn't stock....

 

I believe the story goes something like this: Ferrari wanted to race this model as a GT car but didn't want to build the large number of cars needed to homologate the model, since I guess they didn't believe they could sell that many to the public.

So they convinced the FIA (successfully) that the car was really just a modification to the preceding 250 GT SWB (which, of course, it really wasn't). Thus they only had to build around 35 or so in order to get the car homologated, and I suppose they called the car GTO to make sure the FIA didn't later back down!

In 1964 they tried the same trick to try to get the mid-engined 250 GT/LM (as it was first called) homologated as a GT car. And to emphasize the theory that it was, again, just a modification of the GTO, they built or modified several GTOs to use the same roof design as the GT/LM. (These were the so-called GTO 64s.)

This time the ruse didn't work, as the FIA realized that the GT/LM was really just the 250 P prototype with a roof! As a result, the 250 GT/LM was reidentified as the 250 LM and was forced to race as a prototype rather than a GT car. Ferrari then decided to pull out of the GT class, and the actual successor to the 250 GTO was really the 275 GTB, which was primarily a road car. Now, do I have this correct?

 

Yes, as others have said, the GTO's name was inspired by Ferrari's GTO.



This pissed off a lot of domestic hill-billies and rednecks because Europeans are the devil.


Nevertheless, the GTO is still around (although it was cut off for a long period of time and then revived) and just like the old days, people still don't want it



(actually, there were a few points in time when the Goat was very popular)

 

You mean all points except '04-'06.

 

You've obviously never seen the 1974 Pontiac GTO.

 

For the magazine test, Pontiac used a souped up GTO and raced the Ferrari GTO....and the Pontiac won the race but not by much. Jim Wangers of Pontiac has publicly admitted that the Pontiac car was a "ringer" and not at all stock. This magazine article was to promote America's GTO and it wouldn't look good if the Italian car beat it. So they stacked the deck in their favor of course. Oh....and the race was a drag race only....not a twisty track race. Just to see these two cars side by side is a joke!

 

i seem to remember reading that the comparison test between the ferrari gto and pontiac gto, that appeared in car and driver, never actually took place but that this was a fictional comparison based on factory numbers and other such information. i also seem to remember that the reason for this was that ferrari would not supply a 250gto for the test.

i also believe the firebird gta meant gt automatic (similar to the ford use of gta in the 60's) since i believe all these firebirds were equipped with auto boxes.

 

You are correct on all points.... AND the GTO Pontiac used was actually equipped with a built 428 massaged by Royal Pontiac. Not the standard assembly line 389 with tri-power. And Tony below is correct you could get the GTA with a 5 speed and the 5-liter V8

 

There were 5-speed Trans Am GTAs -- they just were only available with the 305; not the 350 . . . . or something like that.

Regarding "Gran Turismo Americana" -- the first time I ever heard that in my life was on a comparatively recent web site for GTA Trans Ams. Never heard that back in the 80s . . . or 90s. . . and I had the sales literature and everything.

What I do remember regarding the Pontiac is that it was simply "Grand Trans Am". Whether this is correct, I don't know, but that was the only explanation I ever heard for it prior to this wonderful thing called the internet, which proliferates as much bad information as it does good.

 

Heard there was a 421 HO in the Pontiac - installed by Engineering - and "Bobcatted" by Royal Pontiac. A 250 Goat wasn't present - no owners were available to share that day - and so acceleration numbers from a previous test were used.

 

What?! Car and Driver using biased articles to promote domestic products???


Who woulda thought!!

 

In professional drag racing winners are separated by hundreds of a second. A win is still a win.

 

In non-professional, an inferior car can beat a better car with a good driver behind the wheel. The Ferrari driver, if there was one, could have stanked.

 

Racing slicks on the Pontiac vs OEM street tires on the Ferrari

 

I'm not sure of the year - mid 60s I think - but ALFA had a car called a GTA, which was an alloy bodied version of the GTV.
Twin plug head as I recall.

Bob Z.