What Makes a Monaro a GTO?
Written by Dean Robinson

What started at the 1998 Sydney Motor Show as the VT Coupe, a one-off concept car, became the modern day version of the Holden Monaro. Now, less than 18 months since the production version of the Monaro was released to the public, the Americans can also see what it offers. The Holden Monaro has been transformed into the 2004 Pontiac GTO, which was unveiled recently at the Los Angeles Auto Show. While most people know that the cars are almost the same in most areas, there are a few differences, some obvious and some not so obvious. I'll start with the obvious things, and go from there:

• Monaro is right-hand drive, GTO is left-hand drive, this is probably the most obvious difference between the two cars.

• The front bumpers differ considerably due to the different 'images' of the respective companies. The Monaro bumper is consistent with the rest of the Commodore range, which Monaro is derived from, and features the Holden Lion sitting prominently in the middle of the open-mouth grille. The GTO bumper on the other hand has been modified to fit in with the rest of the range, and to fit Pontiac's image. The grille is a twin-nostril design, similar to the twin-nostril that features on older model Commodores but much larger, with the Pontiac badge sitting between them.

• The head lights and tail lights remain pretty-much untouched except for a few minor details. The side repeater lamps that we have on our Monaro don't appear on the GTO, instead they have been incorporated into the front bumper, and are placed just in front of the front wheels. The fog lamps use on the two cars are most likely the same hardware with a different lens, on close up shots of the GTO the lamps appear to be the same but are mounted deeper in the bumper and covered be a clear lens. The Head lights also appear to be the same hardware but the new bumper gives them a sharper point on the side closest to the grille, this most likely just involved attaching a different shaped lens to the existing head light unit. The tail lights seem to be exactly the same as on the Monaro.

• The alloy wheels that the GTO has received are the same as those on the CV8 Monaro, except the Holden badge has been replaced with a Pontiac badge. Despite this a picture from the Pontiac website shows the GTO wearing the wheels on the SS Commodore.

• Unlike the front of the car the rear of the GTO is almost identical to the rear of the Monaro. The only major difference is the addition of a rear spoiler, which is available as an option on the Monaro anyway. The GTO doesn't get the parking sensors from the Monaro, but retains the dual exhaust.

• Due to U.S. regulations the Fuel tank and filler had to be changed, the fuel filler has been moved from just below the the level of the tail lights to above the level of the tail lights.

• Badges on the two cars obviously differ. On the side the GTO has a GTO badge in place of of the side repeater lamps (see above). On the front the Holden lion is replaced with the Pontiac badge, there is also a GTO badge placed inside the grille. On the back the lion is also replaced with the Pontiac badge, and Monaro and CV8 badges make way for GTO and 5.7 badges.

• The interior while be mostly the same I have noticed a few difference in comparing photos of the two cars.

• The speedo on the Monaro reaches 260 km/h while the GTO's on reach 240 km/h, which is strange since the GTO is supposed to have more power.

• The font on the GTO dials is different to that used on the Monaro, and the Monaro and CV8 logos have not been replaced but totally removed.

• Apart from the things mentioned above the instrument clusters remain fairly untouched.

• The steering wheel is almost the same except of the badge change.

• The GTO gets the same in-dash 6-stack CD player as the Monaro.

• The air-con system in the GTO is the same as that in the CV6 Monaro, and not the Climate Control system found in the CV8 Monaro.

• Despite the fact that the driver sits in the other side of the GTO compared to the Monaro, the Handbrake remains in the original position and has not been switched over.

• The GTO also misses out on the flip-out cup-holders that are in the Monaro, instead the GTO has cup-holders in the console between the front seats.

• The interior trim of both cars features the use of loads of coloured matched leather, and lashings of Satin-chrome finish on everything from the door handle to the handbrake.

• The GTO also appear to have the short-shifter found in the Y Series HSV's instead of the Monaro's standard length shifter.

• The front seats of the GTO have also got GTO embroidered on the backs.

• Under the hood the first thing you notice is the engine cover. The 'turtle' which features on all V8 Commodores and Monaros has been replaced with a completely unique looking GTO specific cover.

• The GTO's LS1 engine is currently estimated at 340 horsepower @ 5200 rpm, 360 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4000 rpm with an appropriately tuned Pontiac exhaust note.

• The GTO has been modified with a high-lift camshaft and increased airflow induction to create greater horsepower and low-end torque than the Holden Monaro to meet the needs of American drivers.

So what originally started as an after-hours secret (extremely secret) project, with the original outline drawn pencilled in on Mike Simcoe's wall, has become one of the most sought after cars in Australia. A de-badged Monaro recently appeared on the Vauxhall display at the Birmingham Motor Show, and they liked it, so there is a chance that the Monaro could land in the UK in the future. With exports to soon start to the Middle East where it will be badged the Lumina SS Coupe, and to the US as the 2004 Pontiac GTO, and future export markets such as South America, and the UK, its no wonder the Peter Hanenberger want Holden to become an international brand in its own rights.