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By
EWAN KENNEDY
24 March 2008
On March 19, fascinated members of the media at the New
York witnessed the unveiling of two new high-performance vehicles.
Both are badged as Pontiacs, but are in fact Holden VE Commodores
and will be made in Holden's factory at Elizabeth in South
Australia for export to the States.
Even more fascinating is that the vehicle currently called the
Pontiac G8 sport truck is only carrying that tag during the
introductory stage. It’s to be given a new name by a member of
the public following a competition on Pontiac's website. Click
onto www.pontiac.com/namethiscar/
to have a look at what's happening there. The most interesting
name we’ve seen to date is Pontiac Dingo! Sounds all right to
us.
Particularly when you learn the ute is powered by Holden's big
6.0-litre V8 running through a six-speed automatic transmission.
As the Commodore ute it has already been a huge success in
Australia thanks to the surging interest in these ‘two-door
sports cars’ – sports cars with very large boots!
The Pontiac G8 GXP High-Performance sedan takes the engine
story one step further. Expanded to 6.2 litres it produces 300 kW
and 546 Newton metres. Tagged the LS3, the engine remains a
small-block in configuration.
As it’s aimed at the full-on sporty driver the Pontiac G8 GXP
will be offered with a six-speed manual stick-shift as well as a
sports-modified six-speed automatic.
Styling of the new pair of hot Pontiacs has been enhanced by a
scooped bonnet sitting over a traditional Pontiac style dual-port
grille. The overall frontal theme is similar to the one we enjoyed
so much when it was fitted to Pontiac ‘Monaro’ coupes a few
years back.
Holden's new managing director, Mark Reuss, himself a recent
import from the USA, is excited about the two new Australian-built
high-performance vehicles, saying, they are "… great
additions to Pontiac’s portfolio, a brand renowned for driving
excitement".
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Marque Publishing Company
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