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Clutch takeup is smooth and dead precise. With 400 Lb/ft of torque (SAE net!!) the GTO steps off cleanly and crisply with little driveline lash. The six speed Tremec trans shifts easily, with just the right amount of mechanical notchiness to remind you what’s happening on the other end of the lever. An especially nice touch is the slight shifter vibration you feel while accelerating hard in third gear. Anyone who’s ever rowed a Muncie M22, Ford Toploader or MoPar A833 through a Hurst shifter knows that feeling. There’s a generation of drivers raised on cable shifted, rubber insulated transaxles that have no clue what this feels like!
The ride is firm and precise with no impact harshness over sharp bumps. The steering is satisfyingly sharp with excellent turn in and good road feel. The GTO tracks straight and true with little dartiness on rough pavement. There are no squeaks and rattles and the GTO exudes a hefty solidity and stiffness reminiscent of the Porsche 928. This is a car you could easily live with on a daily basis – equally adept at ferrying Grandma to Bingo as ripping up the back roads.
The GTO LS2 makes a true 400 horsepower. In pre-1972 SAE gross ratings the number is likely around 470 BHP at the flywheel. Compression is a stratospheric 10.9 and the lightweight valvetrain, efficient cylinder head port design and 90mm throttle body make this motor a smooth, torquey and rev happy screamer. Think about that for a moment. 400 horsepower for $33,000 - or about $82.50 per pony. And, you can service it at any of thousands of GM outlets nationwide for pocket change. And it gets 25 MPG per the EPA highway cycle. Given the monumental strides in GM product quality in the past decade, it’s a reasonable expectation that the GTO will require only routine maintenance in the course of prudent, conscientious ownership.
The 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo made 400 horsepower and stickered for about $120,000 ($300 per). The 2000 BMW M5 made 400 horses and stickered at about $80,000 ($200 per). And the sticker price of these Teutonic supercars was just the minimum ante. Think $200 oil changes, $1,000 routine maintenance bills and you get idea. These aren’t cars for you and me. These are cars for the trust fund kids you knew and hated in college. The GTO is a car for normal people, just like in 1964.
This car flat cranks – and the LS2 pulls cleanly in every gear from idle to the 6,500 redline. The LS2 really comes alive at over 3,000 RPM, and when you stand on the pedal in first or second you ought to have the wheel pointing straight ahead – because the tires are going to break loose. Under more gentle throttle inputs the GTO accelerates without histrionics – just a liquid, seemingly limitless rush to the upper limits of the speedometer. Modern engine management ensures that there are no flat spots in the fuel and spark delivery. Think well tuned LS-6 Chevelle and you’ll be in the low-end ballpark of just how effortlessly the GTO accelerates. The shifter is direct with well-defined gates and shift effort appropriate for a supercar. The exhaust note is heavenly, but no so loud as to cause your wife to shrink in her seat from embarrassment.
This is a very serious performance car, and we’d be surprised if the GTO wasn’t good for a sub-5 second dash to 60. The quarter mile times ought to be around 13.30 at 108 MPH. These are huge numbers, and vastly superior to ANY stock GTO from the past – including the fabled 1969-70 Ram-Air IV. It’s merely a matter of time before companies like Lingenfelter begin marketing supercharger kits and stroker LS2 motors – so if stock isn’t fast enough the days of 500 HP GTOs can’t be far off.
So, what’s the conclusion? We believe that the 2005 GTO is for real and in most ways a true spiritual successor to the original. The styling is handsome, interior exceptional and the driving experience is simultaneously comfortable and thrilling. This is NOT a car for the “bling bling” crowd who live to be seen and endlessly chase the approval of their peer group. It’s a car for self confident performance enthusiasts who value substance over style. It’s a car for GTO people.
We want this car to succeed because it will presage the permanent return of such cars not only by GM but Ford and Daimler-Chrysler. We urge you to drive it - because you'll likely buy it
