When it comes to late 1960s GM muscle car wars, the Pontiac GTO is usually pitted against the Chevrolet Chevelle and Oldsmobile Cutlass. But could the legendary Poncho win against a classic Chevrolet Corvette at the drag strip?
Well, it depends on which Corvette we're talking about. Before the oil crisis hit the American car industry in the early 1970s, the Corvette was a monstrous machine with big-block V8s capable of up to 460 horsepower. But it all went downhill starting in 1971.
While still capable of 425 horses that year, the 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) mill returned with just 270 horsepower on tap in 1972. Granted, GM also switched from gross to net output figures, but it was still a significant drop. In 1973, the year this Corvette is from, the mill was upgraded slightly for 275 horses and 390 pound-feet (529 Nm) of twist.
Good for 250 horsepower, the GTO was just as disappointing that year, but the Pontiac you're about to see below comes from 1969 when the nameplate still was a full-fledged muscle car. And this one is fitted with the optional 400-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) Ram Air III, which cranks out 366 horsepower and 445 pound-feet (603 Nm) of torque (both gross figures).
The Pontiac's V8 mates to a four-speed manual gearbox, which isn't as good as an automatic for the drag strip. However, it has more track-oriented rear gears. The Corvette, on the other hand, sports a three-speed auto, but its rear gears are better suited for highway cruising.
On paper, the GTO is the obvious favorite to win the quarter-mile duel. And it does, but not as easy as you'd think. The first encounter is actually extremely close, with the GTO winning by... are you ready... because you're not going to believe it... 0.004 seconds!
The second race goes better for the Poncho driver, who takes the line in 14.29 seconds, almost four-tenths quicker than the Corvette. Having lost the first two races, the Chevrolet driver posts the better ET in the third duel, but it's the GTO that crosses the line first thanks to a better reaction time.
It's a wild confrontation that, in the absence of an ET board, would have needed photo analysis for at least two races. See the drama unfolding in the video below. The racing starts at the 3:20-minute mark.
The footage was shot at the 27th Annual Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race in September 2021, but the video surfaced the Interwebz only now thanks to YouTube's "Cars And Zebras."
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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