1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO
Some cars pass through C/D with the expediency of a burrito from a late-night street vendor purchased in the heat of desire; you abuse each other in secret, the encounter never to be spoken of publicly. Others leave an indelible mark that, for better or worse, will forever be intrinsically linked with your name. For Car and Driver, the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO is one of the latter. For C/D readers of a certain age, the car and story have achieved near-legend status.
The subject of an epic comparison that never really was, the Pontiac GTO pictured above was the cover model and main player of the March 1964 issue of Car and Driver. Illustrated with equal parts savvy and naiveté, the cover depicts the Pontiac GTO gaining on a genuine Ferrari 250 GTO, suggesting that Pontiac had hit the sweet spot and finally had the goods to challenge Europe's finest head to head.
We've already revisited the GTO vs. GTO story once—those of you too young to remember 3.2 beer and leaded gas are advised to check it out immediately—but since then, as office deity The Dude would say, "new shit has come to light." According to Hemmings Motor News, Jim Wangers, who at the time of the original test worked for Pontiac's advertising agency, admitted in his 1998 biography that he requested a secret swap of a 421 motor for the GTO's standard high-performance 389 V-8. This, coupled with the "Bobcat" performance package installed by Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac dealership—that we were aware of—permitted our GTO to put down some serious test numbers. Soon the name "Royal Pontiac" would assume status of its own in the performance world.
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Scott Tiemann of Super Car Specialties has meticulously restored the GTO for its current owner, Tenney Fairchild. Now the car is coming back for another "victory" lap, as part of the GTO 50th anniversary festivities scheduled for the GM Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, this June.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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