What Does GTO Stand For On The Pontiac Muscle Automobile?

For those who’re conversant in Italian racing outfits from the Nineteen Sixties, it in all probability wasn’t arduous to guess that the car Pontiac borrowed the GTO designation from was certainly Ferrari’s 250 GTO racer. Enzo Ferrari is extensively credited for conjuring the GTO title within the early ’60s, when he and his design crew sought to use it to a line of street-ready automobiles that have been additionally authorised to be used in sure racing occasions, therefore the inclusion of the phrase “omolgato,” which interprets to “authorised” in English.

In fact, in English, the phrase “homologated” also needs to stand in for omolgato, as it is the time period most incessantly used for road-ready racers within the North American market. As for Ferrari’s 250 GTO, as soon as they began burning up the roadways and raceways of Europe, they immediately turned a number of the most sought-after automobiles in existence. Nevertheless, Ferrari had no intention of mass-producing the automobiles. In reality, the corporate solely manufactured 36 automobiles within the 250 GTO household between 1962 and 1964, and people items have been promoting for about $18,500 within the ’60s (roughly $189,000 at present). 

Given their price and shortage, few U.S. drivers might really get their palms on a 250 GTO. Recognizing that market potential, Pontiac set about designing and delivering their very own GTO construct, which hit the scene bearing a much more buyer-friendly price ticket that ranged between $2,500 and $2,800 relying on the trim package deal. Whereas Pontiac GTOs are prone to price a reasonably penny on resale today, the super-rare Ferrari 250 GTOs are much more wanted, and have been recognized to fetch near $50 million at public sale.