- The GTO represented a shift in what a performance car was to become. Instead of full-sized powerful luxury cars, such as Pontiac 2+2 or the Chrysler 300, powerful intermediate-sized cars were gaining popularity. Richard Langworth and Graham Robson argued in their book "Collectible Cars 1930-1980" that the GTO ushered in the new muscle car concept in 1964 as a trim package for the Pontiac Tempest.
- Langworth and Robson wrote in the "Collectible Cars 1930-1980" that the initial package offering for the 1964 Tempest GTO was a 389 CID V-8 engine, quick steering, stiffer suspension and dual exhausts. Musclecar Facts.com states that package was carried over in 1966.
The base 389 produced 335 bhp. It was equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor. Buyers had the choice of ordering a "Tri Power" (three two-barrel carburetors) setup that produced 360 bhp. Musclecar Facts.com states a rare ram air option could be ordered for the GTO. Its alleged horsepower rating was the same as the Tri Power GTO, 360 bhp. - Musclecar Facts.com reports the base 389 CID engine, with its single four-barrel carburetor, produced 431 pounds feet of torque at 3200 RPM. The Tri Power GTO with its three two-barrel carburetors produced 424 pounds feet of torque at 3600 RPM.
- Manual steering was standard on GTO and was known as "quick" steering. In 1965, John Ethridge of "Motor Trend" magazine test-drove a GTO. He noted that the optional power steering gave a better feel for the road and had stronger caster returns than the "quick" steering. In fact, the GTO had one of the quickest caster returns in the lot, according to Ethridge.
- General Motors had an engine displacement ban, which forbade intermediate-sized cars using factory engines larger than 400 CID. Mark McCort of Hemmings.com quoted John DeLorean's statement about the significance of the GTO: "The GTO represents Pontiac's answer to the blandness among lower priced automotive products." The engine ban was lifted in 1970, but the years of the muscle car were numbered.
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