We’d argue there’s no car segment out there that has a more difficult mission to go electric than muscle cars, not even supercars. This slice of the market is more about a hardcore driving experience than anything else, going fast included. And achieving that without the rumble of a combustion engine is quite the challenge. However, two of Detroit’s Big Three have shared their future muscle car efforts with us, so we can be at peace, at least for the near future. As for GM, the carmaker is still keeping everybody in the dark regarding the future of the Chevrolet Camaro, with the current Gen VI expected to retire in 2023. But what if Chevy took a page from Ford’s and Dodge’s books, reviving the Pontiac GTO for 2024?
Just like Ford upggraded the S550 platform into the S650 that will retain V8 for at least a couple of years and Dodge revived iconic names from its past—sandly with limited styling changes—for its 2023 Last Call HEMI-powered models, the Gen VI Camaro’s architecture could serve a GTO revival.
After all, few other classic muscle machine have a richer DNA. You see, many consider the original GTO of 1964 to be the model that popularized the muscle car segment (think: medium body, big engine). Nevertheless, this digital revival is based on the sleeker second generation that was built between 1968 and 1972. You know, the one with the ridiculously cool GTO Judge.
However, while GM is no stranger to resurections, the GMC Hummer EV, whose Ultium platform is set to serve a wide range of vehicles, shows that electrification seems to be the only way for the company to bring back its legends. We’ll also remind you that the Pontiac brand itself is now museum material. And so is Australia’s Holden, which served the final stint of the GTO between 2003 and 2006, but we digress.
The Pontiac GTO will come back as a retromod
Fortunately, though, we could expect the aftermarket to come up with such a kit for the sixth-gen Camaro. After all, this would make for a retromod (basically, the opposite of a restomod), a trend that just keeps growing.
Examples range from the Camaro-based Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Chevelle SS built by Trans Am Worldwide to the brand spanking new Challenger Hellcat-built 2071 Plymouth Cuda we met last week at SEMA 2022, which is built by Six Twelve Auto Works.
Such transformations go well beyond the reworked fascias, and it seems that digital artist Rain Prisk, who is responsible for this rendering, stayed true to that.
Sure, we’ve got the hidden headlights of the ’68 and ’69 Pontiac GTO, but also side pipes, an element that was never a factory feature of the Poncho—Dodge offered such hardware on the 1970 Challenger T/A, and Graveyward Carz fitted one with a Hellcat Redeye for SEMA 2022.
As for the wall art in the background of the rendering, the red Challenger warrants special discussion, as Dodge’s ICE (internal combustion engine) muscle cars may not entirely go away after 2023, as many still believe.
You see, with Mopar introducing the new Hurricane 3.0L straight-sixes that currently power the Jeep (Grand) Wagoneer as crate engines for SEMA, this fueled the rumors about ICE versions accompanying the production version of the Charger SRT EV concept, which has been confirmed for 2024.
