Lutz: Monaro will be next GTO
By Jim Henry
Automotive News / March 27, 2002
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The next Pontiac GTO will come from Australia.
General Motors product czar Robert Lutz told a breakfast group at the New York Auto Show that GM will import the Australian-built Monaro to the U.S. About 20,000 each year will be imported into the United States.
The high-performance car is built by a special vehicle division of GM's Australian Holden unit.
The U.S. version will come with a 5.7 liter V-8 and a 6-speed manual transmission. It will make its debut at either the 2003 Los Angeles or Detroit auto shows, said Lutz. It will be sold as a 2004 model Pontiac GTO.
The current V8 model sells for about $30,000 in Australia.
Lutz, GM's vice chairman, called it "an instant cult classic. ...
"It's the most sought after, high-profile car on Australia's roads now," he said. "It will deliver the type of performance that made the original GTO famous."
The Monaro will re-establish a link to Pontiac's performance heyday, which peaked in 1970 when the division rolled out its biggest engine, a 455-cubic inch, 375-hp V-8 for the GTO and Firebird. Pontiac built the GTO from the 1964 through the 1974 model years in a variety of body styles.
Pontiac enthusiasts have been clamoring for a true GTO replacement for years, but GM has resisted because it didn't have a suitable rear-wheel-drive platform.
Lutz said it is possible that other models from its successful Australian unit might make it to the U.S. market, but the total number of vehicles wouldn't be large.
"We can't talk about overcapacity in the U.S. and bring in tens of thousands of cars from overseas," he said.
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