If you’re into performance cars, you’ve heard these terms – GS, GTO, GTX, etc. What do these terms mean, though? GTX especially seems rather tricky. Let’s find out what GTX stands for in cars.
What we do know is that the term is usually associated with a certain intermediate line of Plymouth cars and other muscle cars.
Muscle Cars – A brief history
Muscle cars arose from the youthful euphoria that followed World War II. Many people who returned from military assignments had extensive experience working in motor pools. They were used to working on vehicles and making improvements to them. This experience then gave rise to street rods, as well as a performance culture.
A person named Jim Wangers, the account executive for the advertising agency that handled Pontiac’s LeMans recognized this culture. He saw the potential success of a muscle car, a mid-sized performance car. He persuaded enough people at Pontiac to give it a shot, and the GTO was born in 1964. It quickly took over the street and became the performance image icon Pontiac required. Almost all the car companies of the time tried to have the next GTO. The Chevy SS 396 and Oldsmobile 442 were quickly introduced by General Motors.
Chrysler eventually copied them, but first, they had to develop a strategy aimed specifically at the mid-sized market.
How the GTX car was born
The Plymouth product planning group was divided into two sub-groups at the time. One group did the Furys alongside the mid-sized cars, with the latter as a sort of afterthought. The other group completed the compact and pony cars. The mid-sized cars simply did not have a place to call home. This was rectified in 1965 when Plymouth established a mid-sized car planning office. At the same time, the company established a similar office within the Dodge camp.
The execs at Plymouth put their heads together to find something that could compete with that GTO. As a result, the Plymouth GTX was born. It was basically Plymouth’s version of the GTO. Basically, they took a premium Belvedere with a premium interior, premium accouterments, and molding – the whole shebang. They then added Chrysler’s largest engine, the 440 four-barrel. A very powerful vehicle! It has a good chance of competing with the GTO.
The Plymouth, at that point in time, was regarded as a very conservative, stodgy brand by the youth market. Plymouth sold 12,000 GTXs in 1967, accounting for 8.7 percent of Plymouth’s mid-sized sales effort, but that seems insignificant when Pontiac sold approximately 81,000 GTOs in its mid-sized market.
So then, what does GTX stand for in cars?
According to the late Jack Smith of Plymouth- The X is only a letter that was added to make their version of GTO.
This means that GTX doesn’t stand for anything specific in cars. However, based on today’s trim specifications, you could interpret it as Grand Touring Extra.
What does GT stand for in cars?
GT is an abbreviation for grand tourer or gran tourer, a type of car designed for both long-distance driving and high speeds. The term ‘grand tourer’ is derived from the Italian phrase ‘Gran Turismo.’ Gran Turismo translates to ‘grand tour’ in Italian.
These vehicles usually combine luxury and performance features, with a 2+2 seating configuration being the most common. GT cars first appeared in Europe in the mid-twentieth century, with early pioneers including Enzo Ferrari, Vittoria Jano, and Johnny Lurani.
What does GTO stand for in cars?
GTO is an acronym for ‘Gran Turismo Omologato,’ which translates to ‘Grand Touring Homologation’ in Italian. Over time, it has evolved to mean ‘speed.’
The term is most closely associated with the 1960s Pontiac GTO muscle car. However, the origin and reason for the Italian translation can be traced back to Enzo Ferrari and his classic Ferrari 250 GTO.
Grand Touring is a road-racing class for legal touring cars with at least limited production and public sales — not one-off racecars. The procedure of getting such cars approved as meeting the technical specifications and the minimums for production and sales is known as homologation. These second of these can be a low bar, allowing a small number of cars that are essentially built for the track rather than the street.
Which companies made GTO cars?
GTO models were produced by both Ferrari and Pontiac. Ferrari’s first GTO-badged car was the 250 GTO, which debuted in 1962 as a limited-run touring car designed primarily for racing. Pontiac introduced the GTO in 1964, hoping to capitalize on the wave of European-sounding allure and performance generated by Ferrari and other grand tourers. With the launch of the 288 GTO, a true homologation model intended for the FIA-run racing series, Ferrari gave its top model a GTO badge once more in 1984. In the 1990s, Mitsubishi also sold the 3000GT in Japan as the Mitsubishi GTO.
Why is the Pontiac GTO called ‘goat’?
The animal ‘Goat’ can eat anything. Similarly, the Pontiac GTO is known for ‘eating anything on the street,’ a reference to its power and ability to beat other cars while racing. The GOAT has also been described as a ‘Gas Oil and Tire’ burner. The term is a double-edged sword. Those who had enough money to buy the car burned the three resources, while those who couldn’t afford to splurge couldn’t use the ‘sour grapes’ ploy.
The Pontiac GTO debuted in 1964 as the optional GTO performance package for the Pontiac Tempest. It quickly gained popularity as a supercar, or what is now known as a muscle car. The GTO has been dubbed the ‘Grandfather of Muscle Cars,’ as well as ‘The Legend’ and ‘The Great One.’ However, it is the unusual name ‘The Goat’ that gained popularity and is still used for classic GTOs.
How fast is a Plymouth GTX car?
1969 Plymouth GTX Hemi The GTX’s base engine was a 375-hp, Super Commando 440-cid V-8 capable of 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 14.6 seconds, and a top speed of 121 mph.
What is the horsepower of a Plymouth GTX?
We’ll talk about the 1967-1971 Plymouth GTX’s horsepower here. The standard engine of that model was the 440 Super Commando, which produced 375 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque. The 426 Street Hemi, with 426 horsepower and 490 foot-pounds of torque, is an option for the performance enthusiast. Both engines were available with a TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual transmission.
What is the difference between a GTX and a Roadrunner?
The roadrunner was a lower-class car, with a 383 standard for 1968-1971, a 400 standard for 1972, and a 318 standard for 1973-1974. The GTX was a higher-class car that was standard on the 440 from 1967 to 1971 and was available as an option package on the Road Runner from 1972 to 1974.
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