The famous Pontiac GTO muscle car was born as just a performance package on a Pontiac Tempest. Parts between the cars were nearly interchangeable, except, of course, for the performance parts. The GTO is generally considered to be the first muscle car and earned itself the nickname, 'the Goat,' from an admiring public.

The GTO was basically just a mid-sized car with an over-sized engine dropped into it. The car proved so popular that, in short order, Pontiac brought the GTO into production as its own model rather than as just a suped-up Tempest. The Goat got more and more powerful until the 1970s when fuel standards, emissions standards, and safety standards took the wind out of the muscle cars.

Even though the production models of the GTO disappeared and it became just an options package again, older GTOs continued to be loved. As car enthusiasts got hold of them, things began to change rapidly. Wide tires and enhanced suspensions improved their agility while aftermarket gearbox modifications allowed them to reap even greater benefits from their over-sized power plants.

The Pontiac Car with the Ferrari Name
Aside from a few sputtering attempts to revive the GTO, the classic muscle car is still the only GTO most enthusiasts know. Most Goat owners that can afford it spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars modifying their cars to burn fuel more efficiently, translate that power to the ground more efficiently, and lighten their loads. Parts for such modifications are more widely available than they should be for a car whose heyday was 40 years ago.