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Extracts from article by The Age Drive Team, The Age, Thursday January 23 2003, www.drive.com.au

Multi-million muscle makeover
America could be quick to thank Australia for reviving its Pontiac muscle-car heritage, with the Monaro poised to benefit from some of the $60 million investment in tweaking the sleek two-door for the US.

While exports of Holden's Monaro - badged in the US as a Pontiac GTO - have prolonged the life of the locally made hero coupe, there could also be a flow-on effect to the Monaro. As well as a new nose in line with the Pontiac family, US-bound Monaros get a more powerful version of the 5.7-litre V8 engine.

Holden executive director of sales and marketing Ross McKenzie said the company was considering giving the Monaro a bit more muscle, with more aggressive styling modifications and possibly the adoption of an engine with more grunt. It seems General Motor's worldwide product guru, Bob Lutz, agrees. Speaking shortly after the GTO was unveiled in the US, Lutz said it was up to Holden in Australia to make the next move on Monaro, although he did admit "I know what I'd do".

Incognito Monaro
Speaking of the Monaro/GTO, while it may have been a star at the Los Angeles motor show, the sleek V8 coupe took a back seat at the more influential Detroit show a few days later. With a succession of radical concept cars and production-ready models, the GTO received barely a glance from the American media attendees. The first US-bound Pontiac GTOs will be built on September 1.