2008 Pontiac G8 GT

Imagine a Pontiac Trans Am that has room for five full-size adults, one of the biggest trunks available, is faster and no more expensive. That’s the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT.

G8 Performance

A dozen years ago, 0-60 mph acceleration in the low five-second range was limited to manual-transmission versions of sports cars like the Mazda RX-7 Turbo, Nissan 300ZX Turbo, Mitsubishi 300GT VR-4 and Chevrolet Corvette. To get the Trans Am under six seconds required a skilled driver, a precise touch and a total disregard for transmission and engine. (I know: I was the test driver who slammed gears, slipped clutches, banged redlines, spun tires and, in the case of all-wheel drive 3000GT VR-4s, fried center differentials.) Equip those ’96 cars with automatics and most were slower by around three-quarters of a second.


The reason for this history lesson is to put the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT in perspective.


Despite an automatic transmission, roomy seating for five full-sized adults and a gigantic 17.5-cubic foot trunk, the 361-horsepower Pontiac G8 GT—a full-size car—will produce low five-second 0-60 mph times for anybody willing to hold the gas down. No clutch skill, precision shifting or capricious abuse required. Also, the G8 GT would have given those super cars all they could handle on a road-racing track, thanks to its rear-wheel-drive, 50/50 weight distribution, limited-slip differential, fully independent suspension, sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE050A summer tires and four-wheel anti-lock brakes with vented discs all around. Electronic stability control, standard on all G8s, will keep the over-enthusiastic but under-skilled from spinning out, something that happened more than occasionally to Firebird owners.

Pricing

In addition, the G8 GT’s starting price of $29,995 is as much as $14,000 less than what some of those super cars cost in 1996. And a loaded mid-‘90s Trans Am could cost more than a fully equipped G8 GT. Ain’t progress grand?