Last True GTO?
Many enthusiasts feel that 1972 was the last of the true GTOs. It came back in 1973 as a LeMans option. The LeMans received a new body for 1973. The styling, especially the rear quarter panels and rear quarter windows, was noticeably different from the direction of previous Pontiac A-bodies. The GTO option was offered on the LeMans coupe and sport coupe. The sport coupe had louvers instead of rear quarter windows.

Big Engines Remain
The two GTO engines remained the 400 and 455 V8s, but horsepower was down to 230 and 250, respectively. Compression had been dropped again to 8.1:1. The automatic transmission was the only one allowed with the 455, but the 400 could be ordered with a three- or four-speed manual transmission plus the automatic. All LeMans options were available on the GTO. The two-door coupe accounted for 494 sales and the sport coupe attracted 4,312 customers for a total of 4,806 1973 GTOs.

The 1973 Pontiac Grand Am started out in the development stages as a GTO.

1973-75 Pontiac Grand Am page here

New Platform
Another body style change marked the 1974 GTO. The GTO option was shifted to the Pontiac Ventura platform for what turned out to be the GTO's final year. The sole engine for the '74 GTO was a 350 V8 with a 7.6:1 compression ratio and 200 horsepower. A four-speed manual transmission was still optional. A rearward facing "shaker" hood scoop like the Trans Am scoop allowed cold air into the Quadra Jet four-barrel carburetor under full acceleration.

The Final GTO
Given the tough insurance and government restrictions, the '74 GTO made a valiant effort to keep the muscle car alive. The smaller displacement engine avoided the insurance surcharges on big displacement engines. Other makes were doing reasonably well with smaller performance cars so Pontiac thought it was worth a try. The 1974 GTO sold considerably better than the '73 model. The unique-for-a-GTO hatchback accounted for 1,723 sales and the coupe with its traditional trunk sold 5,335 units. The total of 7,058 was encouraging but not enough to continue the GTO option.

The Legend Lives On
The GTO ceased production, but its legend remained as strong as ever. After many beautiful muscle cars were quickly cast aside during the seventies energy crisis, those same cars soon became very desirable collector cars. The GTO was at the forefront of the muscle car restoration hobby. In 1982, the GTO Association of America was established to preserve and promote the original muscle car. An aftermarket industry evolved to serve needs of GTO restorers. Many of the same people who owned or wanted a GTO in the sixties proudly drive them today. It takes a great car to fuel that kind of desire for 35 years. The GTO helped to establish Pontiac as the performance and "excitement" division of General Motors. Pontiac continues to be at the forefront in terms of creating driving excitement which takes on a new dimension for the next century.

Over half a million GTOs were produced during an eleven year run. Totals ranged from a high of 96,946 in 1966 to a low of 4,806 in 1973.