DETROIT - "The Great One" will return to U.S. highways in late 2003 when General Motors and its Australian subsidiaries, Holden, begin production of a modern version of the legendary Pontiac GTO. Beginning with the 2004 model year, up to 18,000 GTOs will be produced annually at Holden's Elizabeth plant for sale in the United States.
Bob Lutz, chairman of GM's North American Operations, was a key player in bringing back the GTO. After he drove the Holden Monaro during a recent trip to Australia, he knew he had found a vehicle to serve as the basis for the new GTO. "I love driving this car," Lutz said, raving about the Monaro's 5.7-liter V8 and six-speed manual transmission. "It shares that V8 heritage and a brawny, muscular stance with the classic GTO, and it will make a fine flagship for Pontiac."
The addition of the 2004 GTO to the Pontiac lineup is a giant step in Pontiac's mission to contemporize the way it expresses excitement for the 21st century. "We want to focus on creating vehicles with a clean, fresh expression of Pontiac styling and provide our customers with a 'total performance' package that delivers both impressive power and superior handling," said Lynn Myers, Pontiac-GMC general manager.
"In the 2003 model year, we have the all-new Vibe and the fresh look of the restyled Sunfire and Grand Am SE. We are following that with the redesigned 2004 Grand Prix in the first quarter of 2003," said Myers. "The introduction of the new GTO in late 2003 will be the 'exclamation point' on the exciting evolution of the division, moving Pontiac performance to the next level."