By its second season, the GTO was being celebrated in pop songs ("... three deuces and a four speed, and a 389...") and coveted in showrooms (sales were doubling). There even were GTO shoes. Pontiac's muscle car tiger had its claws in the culture of young America.
Returning in the 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO were hardtop and pillared coupes, and the ragtop, all with fresh front and rear styling: Grilles were recessed, headlamps were now stacked, and the hood gained a decorative scoop.
The 389-cid V-8 remained the only engine, but improvements in breathing and cam design boosted power. The base four-barrel increased by 10 bhp, to 335, and the Tri-Power gained 12, to 360. In August, Pontiac released an over-the-counter option kit for Tri-Power engines that opened the hood scoop and created the Goat's first ram-air setup.
Four-barrel cars came with 3.23:1 gears, Tri-Powers with 3.55:1; in all, six ratios, from 3.08:1 to 4.33:1, were available from the factory. A three-speed manual was standard and close- or wide-ratio four-speeds were optional; all had Hurst shifters. A two-speed automatic also was offered.
Inside, the GTO again set the pace for sporty cars. Bucket seats remained standard and the turned-alloy look of the gauge surround changed to woodgrain, with real wood used on some cars. New options included an $86 Rally cluster with full instrumentation and a $137 AM/FM radio. Also available were new Kelsey Hayes stamped steel Rally wheels with functional cooling slots.
Technically, the GTO was still a $296 Tempest option. Tri-Power cost $116 extra and was ordered on 20,547 of the 75,352 GTOs built for '65. The car's encompassing approach to performance and style already was inspiring imitators. Many of them would go on to surpass the Goat in power and speed, but few would have made it off the drawing board if not of the winning ways of Pontiac's original.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. A recessed grille and the now-famous hood scoop were among the front-end styling changes for the GTO's second season in 1965. See more muscle car pictures. |
The 389-cid V-8 remained the only engine, but improvements in breathing and cam design boosted power. The base four-barrel increased by 10 bhp, to 335, and the Tri-Power gained 12, to 360. In August, Pontiac released an over-the-counter option kit for Tri-Power engines that opened the hood scoop and created the Goat's first ram-air setup.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Under the hood, the V-8 in the GTO got a slight horsepower boost. |
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Woodgrain trim and a bevy of instruments on the dashboard set the GTO apart from other muscle cars. |
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. This is one of 11,311 GTO Tempest ragtops built for 1965. |
Wheelbase, inches: 115.0 Weight, lbs: 3,468 Number built: 75,352 Base price: $2,751 Top Available Engine Type: ohv V-8 Displacement, cid: 389 Fuel system: 3 x 2bbl. Compression ratio: 10.75:1 Horsepower @ rpm: 360 @ 5200 Torque @ rpm: 424 @ 3600 Representative Performance 0-60 mph, sec: 6.1 1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 14.7 @ 99 |
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