The Rare GTO Even Hardcore Pontiac Fans Might Not Know About

There's no forgetting the Pontiac GTO from the 1960s. It was one of the first cars ever to gain the moniker of "muscle car" and it, along with other high-powered cars from the era, helped change the car scene forever. It's easily one of the most iconic Pontiac's ever made and one of the most recognizable American cars period. While everyone may remember the 1969 Pontiac GTO "Judge" their parents bragged about, the 1973 model year GTO is noticeably less well known.

The early 1970s marked the waning years of muscle cars. As the gas crisis loomed and emissions controls took over, the big V8s that powered a lot of American cars started to produce less and less power. 1973, specifically, would mark one of the last years for the venerable GTO. So what did the GTO look like as it was leaving the muscle car era? The answer is that it looked quite different than its tire-burning forbearers, and it's much rarer, too.

[Featured image by Elise240SX via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

If you walked into a Pontiac dealership in 1973, you likely wouldn't see a GTO. That's because it wasn't even its own model, but a trim level for the Pontiac LeMans. The GTO as a dedicated model ended in 1972. These LeMans-based GTOs are referred to as "Colonnade" style cars, as it uses the GM A-body that was prevalent among the General Motors lineups in the mid-1970s. 

One look at the 1973 GTO and you can immediately tell it's from the early 1970s. Stock examples have goofy little rubber bumpers on the front sheet metal, and it has two big bug-eye headlights. Yet, despite all the regulation-induced nonsense, it's not without its charm. Under the hood was either a weak version of the Pontiac 400 V8, or a slightly more powerful (yet still comparatively weak) Pontiac 455 V8.

It is relatively rare, and only 4,806 1973 GTOs were ever bought. 50 years later, there are likely dramatically less and unmodified examples are borderline impossible to find. For example, the owner of the GTO in the lead image fitted aftermarket wheels and removed the safety bumpers. The GTO in the embedded video has aftermarket exhaust and wheels.

The 1973 Pontiac GTO isn't a bad car by any means, even if it's a little odd looking compared to the more muscular GTOs of the past. It's an odd relic of the time when American automakers had to adapt very quickly to changing tides. A stock one likely won't win you any races, but it might win you a few points at an automotive trivia night.