Real GTO? Check. Manual transmission? Check. Original color combination? Check. Big honkin’ V8 with enough firepower to push this one into the 12s? Uh, check. If you love everything about the GTO but wish for a bit MORE of it, then this industrial-strength 1964 Pontiac GTO hardtop should get your attention. Built for combat, it carries a 468 cubic inch stroker motor, a 4-speed manual gearbox, and a mostly stock look that will catch a lot of other muscle cars sleeping. Sure, a GTO is nothing to be sneezed at, but this one brings the kind of firepower that creates legends.

Checking the cowl tag, you’ll note that this car came from the factory wearing code F Yorktown Blue paint, which is pretty close to what it’s wearing today. It has been repainted and freshened as needed, but the car has never really been blown apart for a full restoration, which speaks to the care it has enjoyed over the past five decades. The distinctive shape still looks great and Pontiac nailed the minimalist approach by only using a few small badges to differentiate it from its more sedate siblings. Yorktown Blue is a nice balance between the sophistication that Pontiac was aiming for with the GTO and eye-catching, which is what muscle cars were all about. It appears to be wearing all its original sheetmetal, including the quarters, and while there is some evidence of previous repairs back there, it doesn’t seem to be an issue that should raise eyebrows. As a car that has never had the body off the frame, it’s easy to see that it is not a rust bucket and never was. There’s a nice shine to the paint with a few touch-ups here and there, but the whole car has an all-of-a-piece look that seems to work. Even the trim looks right, with a few restored pieces like the bumpers, and some original bits like the taillight panel and hood inserts, which show some of the usual pitting.

The interior has been recently restored to factory specs using reproduction seat covers in the original code 215 dark blue vinyl. It’s minimalist, but that’s the essence of the GTO’s performance attitude—looking good while going fast. Patterns and materials are correct throughout and the wood-rimmed wheel warms things up a bit. The Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed manual transmission is topped by a Hurst shifter and cue ball knob and there’s a vintage Sun tachometer mounted on the steering column. The gauges are in original condition, all framed by the engine-turned dash applique that has represented performance since the days of Duesenberg and Bugatti. At some point a Kenwood AM/FM/cassette stereo has been retrofitted in the dash and it powers a set of speakers on the rear package shelf. A newer dash pad tidies up the top of the instrument panel and the rest of the dash has been painted dark blue to contrast with the lighter bodywork. The back seat looks completely unused and the trunk is extremely solid and finished in factory spatter paint.

I know that most GTO owners tend to forget that these were performance cars first and foremost, because they drive them around like they’re made of glass and wipe them with diapers in a warm garage, but this blue coupe is different. That heavy-hitting 468 cubic inch stroker motor under the hood doesn’t care about sitting on the lawn looking pretty, it wants to go out and hurt someone. With a beefy bottom end designed to take a pounding, a seasoned 400 block, and a stout cam, the internals are certainly ready to rock. Outside, you get a set of lightweight Edelbrock aluminum heads, a matching Edelbrock 4-barel carburetor, and a medium-riser aluminum intake that really fattens up the torque curve without hurting the way it revs. The block itself was painted Pontiac Turquoise to at least try to make it look authentic, and the chrome valve covers were standard-issue on the GTO. Other upgrades include a serpentine belt drive system for the accessories, a modern dual master cylinder and brake booster for the front disc brakes, and an electronic ignition system to light it up. The inner fenders and firewall are gloss black to provide a high-contrast background and to help shave weight, the heater has been removed.

Underneath, there’s the aforementioned Muncie 4-speed, which features a new clutch, and it spins a rugged 12-bolt rear end with 3.73 gears inside, so acceleration is borderline violent off the line. There are a set of ladder bars built into the rear suspension to assist with traction issues and those beautiful long-tube headers feed a stainless 3-inch exhaust system with an X-pipe and Magnaflow mufflers that sound wicked without getting annoying while you’re cruising. This is still a very drivable car, don’t worry. It’s clean underneath, with a dusting of undercoating on the floors that hides nothing, and even with the suspension upgrades, it rides and handles the way a GTO should. The only real warning that you get that this car isn’t quite what it appears are those handsome Boyd Coddington wheels with fat 225/50/17 performance radials that give it a bit of an updated look.

Documentation includes paperwork from PHS verifying that this is, indeed, a real GTO that has been refinished in its original colors.

If you want a perfect GTO with a pedigree, this isn’t it. If you want a GTO that lives up to the legend, however, this one more than delivers. It’s still handsome and comfortable to drive, but there’s a huge whack of horsepower on tap at all times, and that might just be the ultimate luxury. A great-looking Goat at a reasonable price and it includes all the performance you’ve ever wanted. Pretty hard to beat that. Call today!