Pontiac's new release of the GTO might be some competition for the 350Z. The GTO has a 300hp V8 engine, and we all know what a Z has. And price is expected to be about 30,000 - the same range as the Z. Any comments on this?

 

Well, normally I'd say, "it's American", but in fact, it's being built in Australia... however, no one knows what suspension they're going to use, or how heavy the car is...

 

It's estimated at 3,300lbs, only a tad bit less than 200lbs more than the Z. Also it's rear drive.. so personally I think it might be very close. The V8 might give it the extra edge though... anyone have a reply to that?

 

An interesting car and no doubt it'll be an awesome performer but com'on y0... it's a pontiac! It won't get many looks and while torque wise it'll be a fire breather it's got 200 lbs of pork. Z will lose it in the twisties. Everyone knows short of the new Mustang SVT and a Z06 the 350Z is going hand American/Australian cars their asses on platters in the twisters.

 

In a straight line it might be close, but what matters is the twisties...

 

V8 will give it more torque...but I'm with hedonist on this one. Might make the Z an easy target in a straight line but it's a pontiac and odds are that it will fall behind a good bit on a road course.

 

Ah. Definatly. Although the Z is extremely fast (by what I hear so far).. I do hope this new GTO, or the Mustang Mach l, or RX8 will top the Z.. speaking of which, what do you all think of the RX8? Suppose to be same price, and roughly the same power, with a twin rotary engine. Suppose to be very fast.. and the extra edge it has on the Z is it's 4 seats..comments on that?

 

Have you seen what this car looks like. Yep, a typical American car with all it's ugliness. Not a head turner for sure. Pontiac, remember the Aztek.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the RX-8...same redline, same power output as the s2000 but in a wenkel! The suicide doors are pretty cool too IMHO. But it does have less power than the Z and more weight, so unless you strip one down I'm not sure how the performance will be.

 

Yeah it does have a bit less power but you have to also consider the engine, it's a twin rotary. By what I know, and I'm NOT 100%, but those are better engines for speed.. although they are a pain for maintence, they are good for racing and speed.. correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

Rotary requires alot of maintenence, not hard, but frequently and performed correctly. If you do that, the engine will last much longer than a conventional. They are also much lighter for the power generated, and much more accepting of stresses from FI.

BTW, its a funny stereotype that american cars suck, alot of them will whipe the floor with their pricerange competition. Find me a car that competes with a Z06 or SVT/Cobra Mustang? You think they cant handle? think again.

You can modify a Z and still never catch up to a stock Z06, I checked the numbers today and they run mid 4's in the 0-60 and mid 12's in the quarter.... stock. All the while with excellent handling and good braking ability.

 

Chris-
Please stop the bashing and personal attacks. Thanks!

 

um... carbon fiber hood.

 

The Z has infinitely more styling than the GTO -- I think the GTO has a lot of camero look to it -- fugly!


Chris
Austin, Tx
CS Track

 

'Scuse me, mister, but ain't that fancy scooter a Holden?

 

First, Pontiac is clinging to their nostalgic fans by resurrecting the GTO moniker. This car is OK, but it's even CLOSE to a GTO.

I have an old Road & Track that had the first road test with hard numbers published. The car was surprisingly slow. I'll dig around and see if I can find the numbers and publish.

In a nutshell, this car is not going to compete with the Z. Wrong demographic.

 

Also, has it been announced that the car will ever even be released in this country?

 

what would be more fun is to see these cars take an endurance challenge.... stock!