joeyr

DETROIT — If the car enthusiasts within General Motors prevail, Pontiac will further expand its lineup of rear-wheel-drive performance vehicles to include a 400-plus-horsepower V8-powered G8 coupe. Just don't call it a GTO.

The coupe, which would be based on the Holden Coupe 60 concept the Australian division unveiled recently at the Melbourne auto show, would arrive in showrooms within three years' time.

Since neither the Firebird nor GTO name will likely to be revived for the Pontiac lineup, the G8 coupe will carry the performance mantle for the brand. To do battle with the big-horsepower Ford Shelby Mustang GT500KR, Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the upcoming Camaro SS, Pontiac will have to outfit its coupe with the 402-horsepower LS3 6.2-liter V8 that the company recently introduced at the New York auto show in the G8 GXP sedan.

As seen in these illustrations, the G8 Coupe GXP won't be a true hardtop like the Holden Coupe 60 Concept. Like the Camaro and Challenger it will grow a B-pillar and fixed rear side glass in production trim.

It'll also get the GXP sedan's 19-inch wheels, 245/40ZR19-spec summer tires and a version of the GXP's aggressive front fascia. That rolling gear would be attached to the sedan's stiff FE3 suspension and, like the sedan, the GXP coupe would offer an optional Tremec six-speed manual transmission.

Additionally, the G8 coupe, which has been developed alongside the Camaro, would be offered as the G8 Coupe GT, powered by the same 361-hp 6.0-liter used in the G8 GT sedan. Of course, this all assumes that a faction within General Motors that fears upcoming CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards doesn't quash the project.

"The G8 Coupe is not dead," said one source within the company. "This is an uphill battle. It shouldn't be. But it is." When pressed, our source indicates that the chance of getting the coupe is probably less than 50 percent.

Predictably, Bob Lutz is said to be in the pro-coupe camp. This isn't the first time the two factions have battled over G8 variants.

"The G8 GXP, the G8 sport truck and the G8 wagon were all part of the plan. Then they pulled all three just three or four months ago. It was a classic over-reaction to CAFE. We got the GXP back and, because Lutz is a big fan of the sport truck we got that back, too. But then Dodge killed the Magnum and that was the end of the wagon," our source says.

What this means to you: We don't care if they call it GTO or Firebird or Powder Puff. We still want this Corvette-motored coupe much more than a revival of the el Camino. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=125393

joeyr

Couldnt post pics, but it looks nice.

Paladin06

If it's priced like to sedan, this thing will give the other muscle cars a run for the money..

JJMPB

indeed

Yankee

Well if Pontiac defies its bean counters and actually does this and it's successful, maybe... just MAYBE it'll convince Dodge to build a 2-door Charger to compete with it.

Doubt it, though.

tupperware

based on the shared LX platform, Dodge is building a 2 door Charger, its called the Challenger....with their intent to trim model lines to avoid duplicate offerings, I'd have to agree that an additional 2 door performance coupe (be it a Charger or a Cuda) is not a possibility.


too bad though...

RLSH700

Good, it seems that GM is finally getting the idea that a performance division should actually have (gasp) performance.[sm=insomnia.gif] I think they should call it something different though. If they don't want to call it a GTO, then why not call it a Grand Prix. This G# naming idea is going to cause confusion and I frankly think it is a dumb idea.

Yankee, the dimensions between the Challenger and the Charger are so similar that it pretty much is a Charger coupe. Believe me, having the two together would not work by having the same size, same powertrain, same platform, etc. I still think they should make a Firebird instead of this. Why does Chevrolet need the Camaro when they already have the Corvette and the Cobalt SS. Pontiac needs a muscle car more than Chevrolet when all they have currently is the Solstice, which is not exclusively theirs either (Saturn Sky).

Yankee

Well the original E-body Challenger was essentially based on a shortened B-body chassis...

But I have to agree that in the grand scheme of things that it probably wouldn't be a practical idea, all things considered.

As far as Pontiac is concerned, it seems to have been going thru a major identity crisis of epic proportions for the last few years, and it'll continue this way as long as Uncle Bob (Lutz) and the rest of the powers-that-be at GM continue to hamstring it. There is tremendous demand for a new Firebird and it would be undoubtedly a huge hit... but it seems like anytime such an idea is brought up, Uncle Bob puts his hands over his ears and yells "LALALALALALALA!!!!!!" (picture Eddie Murphy's character in Beverly Hills Cop in that one locker room scene and you get the idea).

RLSH700

Lutz isn't perfect but honestly I would love to see him back at Chrysler again. He may be wrong on the Firebird, but at least he has managed to make Pontiac more diverse (what was the real difference between a Grand Prix and a Bonneville when they featured the same engines, same transmissions, and a similar size with similar interior yet the slightly more larger Bonneville cost about the same at the base model as the top of the line Grand Prix). The G6 is way better than the Grand Am, the G5 is equally lame as the Sunfire, the Solstice although not my kind of car does manage to compete in a market that the Big Three have managed to ignore until now, etc. Lutz has really improved Buick in actually having desirable interior and featuring updated exterior looks and taking a more updated approach to powering the cars. Chevrolet hasn't been in this good shape in having competitive products in decades by constantly benchmarking the Viper, making their truck interiors look like they were designed with actual thought instead of an after thought of tossed together pieces that you would expect from a truck during the 80s, having interior and powertrain offerings that are making the most anti-domestic magazines say that Toyota and Honda need to be aware of Chevrolet. Cadillac is finally being considered by people who eat at places besides Country Kitchen.

Lutz is wrong about the Firebird, but I think he has done more good than harm for GM and wish we could have his touch again on interiors and exteriors on some cars.

MrKrisSullivan

ok wait a minute!!!
Why would they need to put a 6.3 liter engine in it to get 402 horsepower???? The LS3 is 6.2 and puts out 425, the LS2 is 6.0 and puts out 400/ as in the GTO
You've gotta be kidding!!! All this G8 non-sense is just to steal the sales from the Charger, which it will undoubtly.
The GTO was in-deed ahead of its time, proofs in the pudding the G8 is coming out with a 6.0 and is only putting out 361 or maybe 381 prolly 381 but i'll make sure later anyways that's the same engine in the 2006 LS2 GTO - that put out 400 ponies- their selling you a de-tuned engine for more with 4 doors. Does anyone relize this but me?? Come on!
The GTO will smash any of these cars but the vette' and I'll bet it could take a Cobra 500kr yada yada.
Look at the new moter-trend mag on sheleves now theres a big article on the G8 vs. Charger.
Me personally have been defending the GTO on this site since I first started posting. And now im gonna say it. The challenger looks good. But that's it. The GTO is my next car via LS2 2006 and black period.
To make a G8 coupe ticks me off because they killed the GTO when they didn't know what they wanted to do and they were all over it and didn't know it. What a shame. I could care less about this G8 but the GTO will soon be mine. Running 0-60 in under 5 secs easily. Plus the GTO was orginally someone elses idea right? Then they left maybe?? Correct me if im wrong. It's obvious that the 4 door market is way bigger so they Killed the GTO to bring in the G8 and sell the same parts and the whole time the better car was already built. Peace...