What Engine Powered The Pontiac G8 GT, And How Much HP Did It Have?

Pontiac may be gone, but it certainly isn't forgotten. In its more than 80 years of existence, the Detroit-based automaker built some popular, coveted cars with pace and power, and the likes of the Pontiac G8 GT are a particularly striking reminder of the legacy and performance pedigree of the GM-owned automotive brand. The G8 GT's performance credentials come courtesy of GM's 6.0-liter L76 V8 engine, which was based on the LS2 V8 that debuted in 2005 beneath the hood of the Chevrolet Corvette C6, where it made 400 horsepower and similar torque.

Underneath the Pontiac G8 GT, however, it got slightly detuned, resulting in 361 horses and 385 lb-ft of torque being sent to the wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. That was a stunningly potent output for its day and could propel the G8 GT to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. To provide some context, that's 21 more horses than a 2008 Dodge Charger R/T could manage. That model had a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 340 horsepower (350 horsepower when specified with the Road and Track Performance Group package) and 390 lb-ft of torque, with acceleration from 0-60 mph taking 5.7 seconds. Fuel economy was also reasonable for a performance car, with the Pontiac G8 GT returning 18 mpg of combined city-highway fuel economy, according to EPA estimates. 

[Featured image by Srcrowl at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 3.0]

Introduced for the 2008 model year, the Pontiac G8 GT is a rear-wheel drive, full-size, four-door sedan with its engine mounted up front. It weighs 3,995 pounds – a significant 405 pounds lighter than the standard large sedan, which according to Consumer Affairs, weighs around 4,400 pounds. There's also the fact that the sleeper sedan's rear-wheel drive layout provides a desirable 51-49 front-rear weight balance that ensures agile handling on the road.

The G8 GT belongs to the Pontiac G8 family of sedans, which were built on the same General Motors Zeta platform that underpinned the fifth-gen Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet SS Performance Sedan. It sits between the base 256-horsepower Pontiac G8 and the higher-performance Pontiac G8 GXP, which has a 6.2-liter LS3 small-block V8 generating 415 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque – enough to allow it to sprint from 0-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds.

The Pontiac G8 is essentially a rebadged Holden VE Commodore, and hence originated from Holden's Elizabeth plant in Adelaide, South Australia, where the Holden Commodore was also made. Pontiac discontinued the G8 GT in 2009 after General Motors revealed the Pontiac brand would halt operations in 2010 due to a financial restructuring.

[Featured image by Jason Lawrence via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]