NEW YORK CITY?! I can hear that old Pace Picante Sauce commercial now, your salsa is made in New York City?! – as a bunch of grizzled cowboys sit around talking about salsa, which is weird enough. I’m guessing that a few of you will be saying 2006?! Yes, this is a 2006 Pontiac GTO and it’s here because it’s an incredible survivor with a mere 468 miles on it. It can be found here on the Sky Motor Cars website with an asking price of $29,980. $29,980?!!
This car has a few things going for it, not the least of which is only having an incredible 468 miles on it. I drive ten times that number of miles every year on average so for a car that’s over a dozen years old to have fewer than 500 miles on it is cool. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that someone bought it thinking that it would be a good investment because 2006 was the last year for Pontiac’s GTO and it wasn’t long before Pontiac itself would be gone. A last-year car is often collector fodder, or at least something to watch for. This car, as you can imagine, looks pretty much as nice as it was when it snuck off the showroom floor in 2006, as much as a 400-hp, tire-burning monster can sneak anywhere. I have a limited edition car that I bought in the early-2000s thinking that it would be a good investment but it hasn’t quite panned out yet. Even though it’s 17 years old now it has a whopping 24,800 miles on it, not exactly in the same league as this ultra low-mileage GTO.
This wasn’t some badge-engineered front-drive car. Well, it was basically a Holden Monaro under the Pontiac skin so there was some badge-engineering going on, but it’s a solid 400-hp, 6-speed, rear-wheel-drive car and they were fast. It’s just a few tenths of a second “slower” than my Cayenne Turbo is from 0-60 and that’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s still under 5 seconds in a 0-60 run. It has somewhat of a 1990s/2000s jellybean look to it, but that’s ok. Most vehicles are dated according to the period in which they were made and that’s what makes this hobby so fun. If everything looked the same, good grief, what a boring world that would be.
I never expect to see a manual transmission anymore, especially in newer vehicles like this 2006 Pontiac. The GTO was Pontiac’s performance model so maybe it’s expected here, but new super performance cars don’t even offer manual transmissions anymore. They say that it’s because an automated-manual is a tick faster than a manual shifter is, yadda-yadda. Automated-manual, ugh. Jumbo shrimp. It’s because drivers are lazy and it’s harder to text and eat a hamburger as you drive if you have to shift. It’s because of gridlock traffic or because most drivers are lazy or they either don’t know how to drive a manual anymore or really don’t care about the art of driving anymore. Ten seconds on any public road will confirm that. Of course, some folks prefer an automatic and may have some mobility issues so it’s necessary. But, after all of that roundhouse crazy talk, here we are, back to this fantastic Australian-built Pontiac GTO with a fantastic 6-speed manual!
Our own Adam Clarke and frequent commenter and all-around Renaissance man, Beatnik Bedouin, would know more about the Holden Monaro/Commodore under the Pontiac skin. Speaking of under the skin, this is GM’s LS2, a 364 cubic-inch V8 with 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. This car has had two previous owners, I’m guessing that both of them were collectors or it would have more than 468 miles on it. Hopefully, it’s had regular oil changes and at this point in its life, it’ll need to start having other things looked at because of age more so than mileage. If a person had a hankerin’ for the last year Pontiac GTO, a rebadged Holden or not, this is as good as it gets.
Great article Scotty. The back-story of the Monaro/GTO has a lot of similarities to the story of the original Mustang. A small group of stylists and engineers had been working on developing a concept 2-door version of the basic Holden VT Commodore sedan in secret and without management knowledge or approval. They had the experimental car basically complete when management got wind of it. The 1998 Australian International Motor Show was on the horizon, and Holden was aware that Ford intended to unveil its new Falcon range at the show, so they needed something to grab the public’s attention. They gave permission for the concept car to be completed and displayed at the Motor Show. The public reaction was so overwhelming that the decision was made to develop and release the car, and to revive the iconic Monaro name.
The production car was released in 2001 and was not only eventually sold in Australia and the USA, but also in the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro. So, like the Mustang, the Monaro/GTO was a 2-door sports coupe that was developed on the platform of what was a basic 4-door family sedan, and both owed their existence to the fertile minds of designers and engineers that had been let off the leash. This picture is of the original concept car. The frontal treatment (grille and bumper) is basically standard Holden Commodore fare. The doors, roof, and quarter panels were essentially hand-made. Sadly, we won’t see the likes of the GTO or the Chevrolet SS emerge from Australia, as there is no longer a local car manufacturing industry in Australia.
Thanks for the great info, Adam! I knew that you’d know, ya know? Thanks, sir. If your cubicle wasn’t 9,500 miles (15,247 km) away I would have just walked over to ask you instead.
Curse you GM for killing the “Tin Indian”, especially with cars like this.( I drive a vintage GMC truck, but would never consider buying a GM vehicle JUST for that reason alone) Normally, anything newer than a Ford Taurus turns me off, but for a newer car, this is really sharp. A friend had a similar year GP, and THAT was a nice car, I’d imagine this would be just as. I’d prefer an automatic in something like this, but I’m an old man, and that clutch foot don’t do so good anymore. As with most newer cars, I can’t afford to own or repair one,( with $200 “chip” keys, and such) but I sure like this. I’d say, as iconic as those 3 letters are, this is a perfect example of what a modern GTO would be like. Of course, I can’t afford it, but I say it’s totally worth it.
he only that would bother me about owning this car is: with the demise of Holden, and the limited number of GTO’s produced, I shudder to think of finding replacement parts, should a fender bender occur! I would imagine that since Pontiac has gone away, the availability of any OEM parts is approaching “unobtanium” status.
I don’t think so. As new as it is, I’m sure there’s warehouses full of fenders, and mechanical parts must be shared with other cars. It’s not a ’55 Hudson Hornet.
Yet.
I have a 2007 Charger Daytona that’s under lifetime warranty, and the dealership has had trouble sourcing mechanical parts for years now. Nevermind me trying to get some body and interior parts. So can imagine a car from a defunct brand would fare much worse.
You would be wrong Sir.
I have an 06 GTO I bought new.
I work in the collision industry and have several OEM vendors at my disposal. Parts are hard to get and mostly unavailable. The ones that you can get are massively expensive.
Same for the newer Caprice police cars.
Police departments are dumping them due to parts issues and prices.
Anthony,
I’d like a latest version Impala SS, but won’t be affording one unless the powerball hits. One of the cop cars might well fill the bill, and it needn’t even be a V8. I participated in a program where one of the V6 cars was used extensively, and it acquitted itself quite well, with decent power, and great handling.
Time to start looking for one, I guess?
Even when Pontiac was still around the parts manager at my local dealer said that the parts were always on back order. Windshield were especially hard to get.
Love these. I know they were criticized for being too bland (which I guess is why they updated the looks for 05/06) but to me that’s what makes them cool.
Get about as much attention as a used Cavalier but with an LS and a 6-speed? Sounds like the perfect combination to me.
A driver’s car that won’t get you too much attention from the local constable should you want to exercise that left foot with the manual gearbox outside of town. I saw this car unveiled at the international auto show that year…one of the reasons I went. There wasn’t much else there to inspire me except maybe the VW Phaeton concept which was also a jellybean-shaped pocket rocket.
As the original owner of a ’06 Pontiac GTO, Brazzen Orange with the 6 speed manual, 18″ rims, LS2 (400 hp/400 ft-lbs torque( these are absolutely great cars. I had no idea the performance capabilities of these cars until GM held an event in San Diego where you could drive these around a coned circuit. I was literally sold right there on the spot and bought one a few months later. Mine has a few more miles than this one (56K), but is still solid and has very few issues.
The nice thing is lower mileage, well taken care of cars are really holding their value. The drive as nice or nicer than the ’08-’15 Camaros, have nicer interiors, and have way better visibility. And they are lighter, so a little faster.
That car was on Craigslist Lancaster last week for $23k.
meh. If they hadn’t called it “GTO” nobody would have noticed it.
Exactly, its a glorified Grand Am only good part is engine and trans otherwise plastic junk
I don’t get where the ‘just a Grand Am’ comments come from. These cars are based on the Holden Commodore and the list of shared parts with ANY Grand Am is about zero. (See also the first comment by Adam Clarke above.) The running gear of this RWD six speed manual LS V8 is identical to that of the first ‘Transformer’ Camaros, and many parts are shared with the later G8. If you’re going to comment, at least make some effort to be correctly informed.
(There is a thing called the internet, that can be used to check facts.)
I’ve owned an 05 and an 06, both 6 speeds, one pretty much stock (exhaust, shifter) but the other a built beast w/ 500+ horses to the rear wheels.
These cars are very well built, the Aussie’s idea of fit and finish is much nicer than our’s.
My stock 06 could get 29+ mpg highway! Not bad for 400 HP…
It’s not listed on the website you gave…..must be sold…
Looks like a grand am with hood scoops. Said thing to name a gto.
Overpriced piece of plastic junk, Glorified Grand Am only good part May be the engine and trans
You’re not paying attention, are you?
Grew up in a Ford truck Pontiac car family. I owned both a 76 / 78 / 2010 / 2016 Ford trucks and a 65 / 2 67s / 70 GTOs. I saw these new model GTOs and hated the looks along with most of my Pontiac friends but we did see them race at our local dragstrip and yes they were fast but speed is only part of the equation as it has to have style which we thought it looked like every other car on the road at that time only with scoops. If Pontiac would have gave it a more retro look like the Mustang of the same period they would have sold millions more.
I want this soooooo bad!
Anybody also see the season premiere of “Restoration Garage” where the goofball hippie with a PHD (papa had dollars) who had a surreal car collection, one item of which was a stellar, 140 miles (yup, you read that right), ’57 Chevy. This guy had the audacity to look into the camera, smug-faced as could be, and say, “I don’t get you guys who don’t drive your cars but just collect them.” A car that’s been driven an average of 2 miles per year, with an owner saying THAT! One of the more offensive and pedantic things I’ve heard, especially since the majority of us have worked our ****s off to get what we have. Scottie, beam me up.
Love these.
As others have already mentioned, they are great to drive, and I’d be putting a zillion fair-weather miles on this one. (therefore killing the boost in value due to low mileage)
This car has a desirable drive-train, which has found it’s way into at least one Miata. Now THAT makes for supercar performance….!
It needs to be stuffed in a barn for 50 years then you can put it on here . Nothing special about it and with the electronics sitting long periods of time ,they become problems. They must have been scared to drive it as it was made to run . Hope new owner drives the wheels off it !
In all honesty it is a dressed up Grand Am & Reminds me of another feeble attempt @ Badge Glory ie_ 80s Dodge Charger.
I’m reminded of the phrase,”It is better to remain silent and be thought stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt” Or in this case, write it down.
Shared parts with a Grand Am are zero. See Adam Clarke’s comment, the first comment, above.
I just sold my 06 LS2 6-speed manual impulse blue 2006 GTO at Barrett-Jackson. I had owned it 3 years. It had 39200 miles. it was a blast to drive it And great power and frankly I think it had subtle good looks.
I have owned my ’04 GTO since new and purchased a MPD hood with functional ram air. Now this is the hood it should of came with.
.
Alas, Barbados Metallic was a 1st-year-only color.