The Hidden Gem Muscle Car that outperforms its price tag

GTO. Just the mention of the three-letter name is enough to conjure up images of powerful cars conquering world-class ribbons of pavement. At the intersection of car enthusiasts and historians, the name is associated with classic Ferraris, such as the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO or the 1984 Ferrari 288 GTO. But much to the chagrin of die-hard Ferrari fans, the powers that be at General Motors and Pontiac decided the name belonged to a fire-breathing version of the Tempest Coupé.

Enter the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO. The three-letter label was more than just a boastful badge. Pontiac took the Tempest, with a powerful 389 cubic inch V8, a four-speed manual transmission, a stiffer suspension and a limited-slip differential, to name a few things. The result? This Tempest was quite a super storm, with surprisingly fast acceleration times. And, unlike other more desirable specialty muscle cars of the era, the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO is still (arguably) affordable. Just don’t expect to get a solid example for the same money you would spend on a more recent GM muscle car or pony car, like the 2006 Pontiac GTO or 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

The 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO: thunderous and lightning fast

By the mid-1970s, the days of muscular coupes converting high-octane gasoline into tarmac-busting horsepower and torque were all but over. The 1973 oil crisis waved the green flag for the emissions-induced anemia of the Malaise era, and the thirsty, powerful eight-cylinder engines of the 1960s gave way to detuned, hamstrung V8s that produced paltry horsepower. Fortunately, however, American shoppers enjoyed a decade of mighty mills. And one of those beloved, albeit overshadowed, gems from the 1960s is the GTO treatment for the Pontiac Tempest.

The formula was simple. Take the more luxurious Le Mans option for the Pontiac Tempest, add a killer 348-horsepower, 389 cubic-inch V8 and a Muncie four-speed manual transmission. Enter Pontiac’s Saf-T-Trak limited-slip differential into the equation and add a stiffer suspension than you’d find in a typical, similarly wallowing 1964 Pontiac Tempest. This is a Tempest that went to the gym and got hooked. In short, the car that many fans consider one of the original muscle cars is fast. Very quickly. No surprise there.

A controversial name

Pontiac made the GTO on and off for more than 40 years until GM decided to close the brand in 2009. But that doesn’t mean the GTO name was always a welcome part of Pontiac’s lineup. In March 1964, Car and Driver said it agreed with irritated enthusiasts that Pontiac was “wiping away a name to which it had no right” regarding names like Le Mans, Grand Prix and, of course, GTO. To this day, there are still Ferrari superfans who believe that the only rightful place for the name ‘Gran Turismo Omologato’ is on a Ferrari. Still, that didn’t stop General Motors and Pontiac from using the names in their lineups.

Originally, the GTO was a Le Mans option for the Tempest platform Pontiac. But by the end of his tenure, the GTO would become its own coupe. At the end of the GTO series, the 2004 to 2006 models were simply ‘Pontiac GTO’, without Tempest or Le Mans. They were also built on the same Commodore platform as the Holden Monaro, the GM muscle coupe in the Australian market.

Faster than a Ferrari?

A Ferrari GTO and a Pontiac Tempest. What a dichotomy. At a glance, it seems like you’re comparing a supercar and a family car. Hardly seems like a fair comparison. But when you dig into the nitty-gritty, things start to make a little more sense. Admittedly, the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO is not the most powerful muscle car of its time, far from it. But the 348bhp V8, when launched just right, was enough to reach 60mph in just 4.6 seconds. That was 4.6 seconds in 1964.

It didn’t stop there either. The GTO was good for 100 mph in just 11.8 seconds thanks to the “Royal Bobcat” treatment of Michigan’s Royal Pontiac. “Our test car, with stock suspension, metal brakes and a tested 348-horsepower engine, will lap any American road course faster than any Ferrari road machine, including the 400 Superamerica. Not bad for an actual delivered price of $3,400,” reviewers noted in the March 1964 issue of Car and Driver. And they mean any Ferrari. The Ferrari GTO, although considerably more expensive, couldn’t even escape the sleek, angry Tempest in on-paper comparisons.

Fast according to current standards

The 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO wasn’t just fast by 1960s standards. It’s fast, period. Even by today’s standards, the Tempest GTO’s acceleration figures are impressive. With the Royal Bobcat touches, including carburetor adjustments and a distributor modified to increase low-end response, the Tempest GTO reached 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. That’s 0.3 seconds faster than one 2025 Honda Civic Type R. It’s also 0.1 ticks behind a brand new S650 Ford Mustang EcoBoost. Frankly, this is proof that the GTO hasn’t gotten much faster over the years. The last Pontiac GTOs, especially the 2004 to 2006 models, took almost five seconds to complete the sprint. And that’s with a 400-horsepower, fuel-injected 6.0-liter LS2 V8 under the hood of the 2006 model.

1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO Specifications

Punching above its price tag

Okay, so a classic Pontiac GTO isn’t exactly what we’d overlook in the world of old-school American muscle. There is enough interest in 1960s GTOs to keep them out of reach for many potential collectors. All things considered, though, a solid 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO is a cheaper proposition than many other sought-after and coveted muscle cars of the 1960s. According to Hagerty, a 1964 model in Le Mans GTO specification is worth about $41,800 in number 3, or “good” condition.

Hemmings reports that nicer examples routinely fetch $50,000 to $60,000. By comparison, well-preserved muscle cars from the 1960s, such as the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Hurst, and the 1964 Mercury Comet A/FX, fetch much higher values ​​at auction. Better yet, if you have a time machine at your disposal, you might want to stop by a Pontiac dealer from the mid-1960s. In 1964, a Pontiac Tempest Le Mans would have cost about $2,480. Adding the GTO option brought it to $296, bringing the total to $2,776, or about $30,000 in today’s purchasing power.

One of the fastest muscle cars of the day

A 4.6-second run to 60 mph is guaranteed bragging rights for this 62-year-old muscle car. But it’s also enough to make the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO one of the fastest-accelerating American production cars of the era. In testing, the legendary 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 managed to reach 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, well under the pace of the Pontiac. Even the 1968 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi, with its sinister silver screen appearance and 425-horsepower Hemi V8, was 0.2 second slower to 60 than the GTO. Not too shabby.

Sources: AutoBuzz, Car and driver, Classic.com, Hagerty, Hemmings