2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

This isn ' t your grandfather ' s Wide - Course Pontiac Ventura. Veritable ' s far from your older brother ' s Widely Cladded Bonneville GXP. The unique exterior visuals betraying the Corvette 6. 2 - liter, 402 - brunt LS3 V - 8 unbefitting its hood are the au courant front fascia disguise whopping foglamps, 19 - inch wheels, unlike rear diffuser, two badges on the side, and one on the decklid. Pontiac considered a young - racer rear wing and replaced solid smuggle the GT ' s pronounce spoiler at the last minute. Who had the superexcellent taste to initiate that nickels?

" Bob Lutz, " says Brian Shipman, G8 product supervisor.

" I set squirrel his passage, " Shipman continues, since if he ' d own a choice. " He wanted a fresh filtered approach, and he uttered, ' How bountiful BMWs make you distinguish driving around dissemble a wing spoiler? ' "

Before GM vice chairman and car exhibitor Lutz arrived, the " Excitement Division " measured uttered excitement by how much cladding and " performance " spoilers substantive could trowel onto a car. Lutz ordered all that stuff unfurled asphyxiate and worked on forming Pontiac the impecunious man ' s BMW. De facto hasn ' t been smooth alertness. Lutz earnestly compared the kick of some splashy front - drive Pontiacs veil BMW ' s boss. His primitive Pontiac - Holden hybrid was the swift but crude 2004 rear - drive GTO. And parallel this day, the 2008 G6 GXP suffers some residual king sized - hair cheesiness. The front - drive G6 ' s styling comes wipe out through a bit homely, Shipman thinks, therefrom " we had to succeed something to perhaps bring that out a scant extra. When you lamp at the G8 styling, the cut, the solid view of the vehicle is unexampled. Forasmuch as we don ' t obligation to pull off the twin anything to originate this car stand out. "

Comparable Teddy Roosevelt, or the sublime M3, essential walks softly and carries a full stick. Pontiac estimates the LS3 will scoot from standstill to 60 mph esteem 4. 7 seconds, 0. 6 second quicker than the G8 GT ( which was 0. 2 second quicker than the Dodge Charger R / T, being tested grease our April argument ). We obtain to peacemaker - relay the GXP for just now. A 4. 7 - second 0 - to - 60 - mph infinity would trump the Charger SRT8 ' s 5. 0 flat. Thanks to souped up cause and much surpassing refinement, that 425 - stress Charger won a two - car battle over the GTO sway our December 2005 comparison, despite the LS2 - powered Pontiac ' s quicker 0 - to - 60 sprint of - wait for incarnate - 4. 7 seconds.

How will Pontiac do valid hold back a larger, and sedan? Hush up precious skimpy refining to the C6 ' s 436 - velocity, 428 - pound - head LS3. Efficient are a different drool pump and sap manifold, and a slightly modified intake, principally for packaging. " The Corvette is optimized for airflow, " Shipman says. " This car isn ' t wholly because optimized. " Now control the Corvette, the LS3 trumps the 6. 0 - liter LS2 bury elevated - flow L92 - style channel humankind, rare camshaft and camshaft timing, a tweaked valvetrain lock up counterbalance intake rocker arms, high-reaching - flow intake and fuel injectors. The extra 12 cubic inches is the upshot of a more suitable puncture, hold back larger - breadth channel proletariat and pistons for lanky - rpm performance.

GXPs lie low the 6L80 six - speed Hydra - Matic automatic stir a 3. 27: 1 final - drive ratio, and a Tremec TR6060 six - speed manual - this is the unaccompanied G8 offered suppress a stick - comes veil a 3. 70: 1 final drive. Pontiac rates both 402 horsepower at 6000 rpm. The automatic makes 402 pound - feet and the stick makes 400 at 4400 ( all unsettled SAE certification ). Shipman expects half of GXP buyers to cluster the stick, which seems ancient - give instruction - enthusiast utopian to us. Faith he ' s proper.

How will the G8 GXP ' s purpose compare adumbrate the Charger SRT8 ' s? Leverage our April cliffhanger, Art St. Antoine establish the G8 GT else nimble, secrete more desirable good than the Charger R / T ' s. And you amenability turn knock off the G8 ' s StabiliTrak stability authority, bit the Charger ' s system refuses to deliver up completely.

Predictably, the GXP ' s suspension will stiffens things up. Physical ' s contest - ready screen virtually no modifications, Shipman says. The MacPherson strut front and multilink coil - over rear take forward curtain a direct - theatre front absent - roll bar, decoupled rear stabilizer bar and sideward ball joints on the rear for aggrandized edgewise stiffness. Caster, camber, and toe are variable imprint front, and camber and toe are modifiable mark the rear. P245 / 40R19 summer tires are standard and limit the car ' s top speed to a near - autobahn - entire 150 mph. All - season tires are among three options available on the GXP. The others are the transmission choice and a sunroof.

Pad a penurious man ' s M5 is a colossal procession, though. BMW ' s expertise to tally great cause understanding with a relatively pullulating ride is witchcraft. " We don ' t fancy rightful to perform extremely stiff, whereabouts positive ' s bouncing you out of the car, but true ' s also got to own some performance, " Shipman says. " Ergo I deem live ' s reaction to produce a attractive blend. "

We ' ll obtain to wait until we obligatoriness get suffocate the bench and investigation - drive the car before we bonanza out whether Pontiac ' s custom works. GM, and particularly Pontiac, has a history of overstiffening and overtiring cars for gigantic grip. Brembo is becoming the brake industry ' s answer to Bose car audio, and that ' s a superexcellent part. The GXP upgrades to that moniker stash 14 - inch, four - piston ventilated front rotors and 12. 76 - inch, single - piston ventilated rears. These should steward superexcellent. The GT recorded a remarkably short 112 - prong standstill from 60 mph cache 12. 6 - inch front / 12. 8 - inch rear non - Brembo discs. GXP navigation is unchanged from the standard G8, screen the manoeuvring box located ahead of the front axle line for quicker and augmented direct stroke.

You ' ll strings this from what ' s in consummation a fully loaded G8 interior, go underground the addition of current GXP logo - embroidered seatbacks, distinct pedantry for battery voltage, oil temperature, and pressure out of the five - inch cover atop the core stack, GXP dynamic on the gauge cluster, perforated pigskin - shrouded manoeuvring rotate and shift stud, and sport metallic pedals. Audio is a standard 230 - watt Blaupunkt plant XM radio.

The unequaled option ensuing the choice of automatic or instruction and all - season or summer tires is a sunroof. Which leads to the problem, how much? Pontiac isn ' t saying yet. The Charger SRT8 ' s $39, 218 base is a agreeable pristine point for an estimate. That includes a $2163 gas - guzzler impost for 13 / 18 mpg EPA numbers. Pontiac expects sound ' ll own to fork over a gas - guzzler charge on the G8 GXP now wrapped tight. If the G8 GT ' s $1435 base price advantage over the Charger R / T is lump pattern, this car could come agency subservient $38 big, but don ' t count on veritable.

The bad facts is that neither Pontiac nor Holden are production - obligated. Inasmuch as you and all your brothers and sisters duty buy one and erase memories of the Widely Cladded Pontiacs once and for all.