How Many Pontiac G8s Were Made Over Its Two-Year Lifespan?

When you think about the most collectable Pontiac cars you likely envision GTOs and Firebirds from the Muscle Car era, Trans Ams of the 1970s, or maybe even a late-1950s Pontiac Bonneville. While, other than some high-end supercars, we don't generally think of cars from the late 2000s as collectable, Pontiac fans know the Pontiac G8 is a future classic.

Based on the Holden Commodore, and built by the Australian GM subsidiary, the Pontiac G8 is another rebadged Commodore in GM's lineup with a two-year production run. Between 2008 and 2009 just over 38,000 Pontiac G8s rolled off the Holden factory's assembly line. Initially available in two trims, base and GT, Pontiac added the GXP trim to the G8 lineup in its final year of production, but only sold 1,829 G8 GXPs before Pontiac pulled the plug on the G8.

From the start the Pontiac G8 was designed as a sport sedan under the leadership of GM executive Bob Lutz, who was also involved in bringing us the Dodge Viper among others. While the base Pontiac G8 featured a 3.6-liter V6, the GT and GXP trims used small block LS V8s.

The Pontiac G8 GXP has a slightly detuned version of the third-generation 6.2-liter small block LS3 that powered 2008 to 2013 Chevrolet Corvettes. Where the Corvette's LS3 made up to 436 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque, the GXP version had 415 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. For additional sportiness, the G8 GXP offered an optional six-speed manual transmission to replace the basic six-speed automatic.

If you can't find a Pontiac G8 GXP — they're rather rare — but still want a G8 with a Corvette engine under the hood, you're in luck, sort of. The Pontiac G8 GT features a 6.0-liter LS2 small block V8, the same engine found in 2005 to 2007 Corvettes. However, like the GXP, the GT's LS2 is detuned to deliver 361 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque from the Corvette's 400 hp and 400 lb-ft. You'll miss out on the manual shift option, but they're more plentiful with about two-thirds of the 38,000+ G8s sporting the GT trim, according to Car and Driver.

Discontinuing Pontiac G8 production had more to do with GM's restructuring following the automakers financial woes incurred in 2009 than its consumer appeal. Since the Pontiac G8 was produced in Australia by the GM affiliate, Holden, the G8's profitability was forever tied to exchange rates and the strength of the US dollar. The late 2000s were not only a troublesome time for General Motors, it was also an era of historic recession that killed other GM brands including Saturn.

GM shuttered the doors on its Pontiac brand entirely in 2010 putting an end to 83 years of automobile production. Susan Docherty, then GM's VP of U.S. Sales explained the decision in a letter to the editor of Automotive News in late October of 2009 following the announcement of Pontiac's closing. Docherty's letter relays the automakers struggle to keep the Pontiac brand alive by making it profitable amid difficult financial times, noting that Pontiac had failed to return a profit "for several years."