If you're like us, then you probably still weep about General Motors pulling the plug on the Pontiac brand thirteen years ago. After all, the company gave us some great driver's cars over the decades, and this story is dedicated to one of them – or one particular example, better said.
We're talking about the rare Pontiac G8 GXP, a hot version of the normal sedan that shared its construction with the era's Chevy Camaro, Caprice, and Buick Park Avenue. It is estimated that fewer than 2,000 copies of this muscly sedan saw the light of day, and all of them featured a Corvette engine with a 6.2-liter displacement.
The LS3 V8 produced 415 hp (421 ps/310 kW) and 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) of torque back in the day, channeled to the rear axle via a six-speed automatic transmission, which was the standard offering. A manual gearbox was also available. The 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) time was 4.5 seconds, and it was a 13-second car down the quarter mile.
The performance is nothing to write home about anymore, but this is a car made towards the end of the 2000s, which has a curb weight of almost 4,000 pounds (1,815 kg). Besides the hot lump, the G8 GXP also featured a revised suspension, Brembo brakes, and a few stylistic changes at both ends.
Photo: Garage Kept Motors
Pictured in the gallery above is a 2009 model with 30,471 miles (49,038 km) on the odo and a clean title. It has an automatic transmission, comes in black with a matching interior, and has long-tube headers, a new exhaust system, and several other tweaks for enhanced performance. Therefore, it should behave better than the stock one, in theory, at least.
Given the rarity of this model, the relatively low mileage of the pictured example, and the fact that it appears to have been properly maintained over the years, this 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP can be considered a collector's item. And unlike some rare vehicles, it does not command an arm and a leg and your firstborn. In fact, the asking price is on the decent side.
Advertised by Garage Kept Motors, with the listing available here, this G8 GXP can become yours in exchange for $44,900 and a signature on the papers. For a similar sum, you could buy a brand-new Chevy Camaro 1SS, which starts at $43,895 for the 2024 model year, excluding destination. And while it may sound like the logical step, the muscle car seems less cool than this muscle sedan.
If you feel the same, then you may have found your next used ride, and we won't be the ones to stop you from buying it. Just make sure you read this article before transferring the funds.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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