just got this info..

In a keynote speech at Kettering University, (formerly the General Motors Institute) in Flint Michigan about a week ago GM Vice-Chairman Robert Lutz announced that the 2004 GTO will have a 360+LS1 in 2004 and a 405 HP plus LS6, among other product notes. The GTO is known to be one of Lutz's pet projects and pretty much anything out his mouth regarding the car is considered gospel. With the cars debut quickly coming up expect more and more info to slowly come out of GM.

 

Wow. Two engine engine choice for a car only being imported in amounts of 18,000? Way to go Lutz! Does this prove that low volume cars can have engine choices unlike what happened with the Camaro? Or does the GTO have two V8 options because of the higher price of the GTO which offsets the cost of the two engine choices unlike the Camaro Z28 which began at $25,000 and because of the low price couldn't create a profitable case for two V8 engines.

And now with two engine choices, what are they going to call these two different models? Now its not just GTO. You have a 360hp GTO, and a 405hp GTO _(insert term here)_. GTO GXP? GTO Judge (I hope not. The original judge was a stripper)? GTO-S? GTO-R? None of these are appropriate!

 

I'd vote for just "GTO"...regardless of engine. The original GTO had engine choices...several of them on certain years..and they were all just called GTO.

 

Maybe their going to call it GTO Power?

 

GTO XXX

 

Something else newsworthy is that although 18,000 Holdens are slated to be exported to the US next year, 30,000 is planned the following year.

Whether it's all GTOs or if El Camino or some other car is making the trip as well I don't know....... yet!

 

Hey, guionM!

When are you gonna drop a small block into:

"78 Monza V6 4sp w/ 4bbl edelbrock Carb & manifold, headers, siamiesed dual exhaust."

and start whipping some REAL a$$???

What's it weigh anyway? 2400 lbs? 2600 lbs.?

I have a 1976 coupe as a project, but it has been put on hold since I started tearing the Nova apart.

Anybody besides me notice that Monzas have the same torque arm, panhard rod, 2 LCA's suspension that F-bodies do?

 

GTO LS1 and GTO LS6

Any word on pricing though? We may be looking at $35k LS1, $40k LS6. But I love that it's being offered like this (and in the first year!). January can't get here soon enough!

And yeah, just "GTO" is fine. All you need is an extra "405HP" emblem on the LS6 version ala Z06.

 

that is pretty sweet ls6 in the gto
maybe lutz will change gm around
but still BRING US OUR CAMARO BACK!
put an ls6 in it

 

Interesting i posted that story on www.newagegto.com today

 

LS6 Vette
LS6 GTO
LS6 CTSv
LS6(ish) Silverado SS Reg. Cab

That lineup would make me a giddy little boy

 

I personally can't wait for GTO GenIV ! See what the new GenIV will be able to do once it goes into the CTSv and the C6!

 

That was just a project car, and to a 22 year old (at the time) it seemed pretty quick. It would do about a 90 mph quarter, which was about the speeds of Corvettes at the time (1985), so it was fast enough. Sold it to a guy I was stationed with when I left Guam in 87. That car was a feather weight (it had no options whatsoever...not even a console!). Bought it for $900 and sold it for $1800.

I later inherited a Spyder V8 in excellent condition except for the engine which I swapped out the 305 2 barrel for a 1977 4 barrel LM1 (this was in Cali, so I had to keep it reasonably stock), replaced the stock 2 1/4 inch exhaust system with a 3" pipe & a Cat from a Monte SS (honeycomb vs beads & larger diameter openings), and had to use an air cleaner from an 79 Olds Cutlass (the only cleaner that would fit the 4 barrel and drop low enough to clear the hood). If you are using an Auto, watch out for that Turbo 250. It's not exactly the best at handling extra power.

Sold it 2 years later at a loss because I didn't want to deal with getting CARB to clear it when the smog check became due again. Besides, I had a 5.0 Mustang by then that at the time was pretty ferocious.....and it had a stick.

Bought a 2nd Spyder V8 automatic a couple years later when a guy was getting stationed in Japan & was desparate to sell it. It was loaded except for power windows. Bought it for $950 and put it in the Auto Trader for $2200. I was shocked when I got that for it a week later.

 

When I was a Marine, the fastest street car on the base at 29 Palms was a beater, primered, hack-n-slash 350 cu. in. Monza coupe owned by a "good old boy" from somewhere south of the Mason/Dixon... used to have a vinyl quarter top and the whole 9 yards...

Anyway, he kept up a pretty could banter with the 5.0 liter guys (it was around 1990), and would actually get one to race every once in a while.

He would then tear 'em a new a$$hole.

Beat up a T/A and a 340 Cuda too.

A well built dual quad 1966 327 Nova gave him a good run once.

Early Monzas tipped the scales at around 2400 lbs., V8's usually came in at just over 2600.

They desperately needed a rear end swap, the mounting points for the rear suspension needed to be beefed up, the Turbo 250 needed to be replaced, wheels and tires were an issue on the 4-lug wheels, and the unibodys were EXCEPTIONALLY flexible (nothing a roll cage can't fix).

But, at the end of the day, if all that stuff was done - they were killers.

 

Absolutely!