Four-door Corvette? Pontiac G8 GXP may get LS3 6.2L V8

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Pontiac


The upcoming 2008 Pontiac G8 has a lot going for it. There's the oh-so-hot-right-now rear-wheel-drive chassis, a base price under $28,000 and the high-performance G8 GT with a 361-horsepower 6.0L V8 starts below $30,000. It's the performance bargain of the year, and if a forum post over at G8GT.com is to believed, the bargain is about get a whole lot better.

A dealership employee somewhere has posted a pic of GM's inventory controls website in which the engine option for the 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP is revealed to be none other than the LS3 6.2L V8. To refresh your memory, the LS3 replaced the LS2 as the base engine for the Corvette this model year. In the Vette, it produces 430 horsepower from 376 cubic inches, or 436 hp if you opt for a special dual-stage exhaust system.

There was a time when the Corvette kept all of its components to itself, but that ended when they started building the Cadillac XLR side-by-side with the iconic American sports car and began using its engines in the CTS-V. Nowadays, Cadillac regularly pilfers the Corvette parts bin, so why not Pontiac, too? An LS3-powered G8 GXP would be just short of epic in its degree of awesomeness, so let's hope the internet is right on this one. Thanks for the tip, John!

Gallery: 2008 Pontiac G8


[Source: G8GT.com]
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[bren]

I'm starting to like this autoblog guy.

[TD]

Originally Posted by bren

I'm starting to like this autoblog guy.

+1

[John V]

Yes... far superior to LLN so far.

(not that that's difficult)

[JST]

Excellent.

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showpo...03&postcount=9

Now, Pontiac, make sure a) a stick is available, and b) the car is actually in a dealership somewhere at some point, and we may have a deal.

[ff]

Definitely. If the build/interior quality is anything like GM's latest (Malibu, etc), then this could be a big winner. Under $30K?? That's a lot of car for the money.

[JST]

Here is the site that the Autoblog post links to. According to the dealer/mole posting screen shots, the GXP will be available with a stick, will likely have a 3.70 final drive ratio, and will have Bluetooth. All of these things kick ass. I'm not such a huge fan of 19" wheels, though.

http://g8gt.com/t2984/

[JST]

Originally Posted by ff

Definitely. If the build/interior quality is anything like GM's latest (Malibu, etc), then this could be a big winner. Under $30K?? That's a lot of car for the money.

The GXP won't be under 30. That's the starting price for the V8 (auto only) 362 hp G8 GT, which is still a hell of a lot of car. The GXP will be...what...40ish?

But, yes, more than the CTS-V, this is the car that I want to own.

[FC]

Originally Posted by JST

The GXP won't be under 30. That's the starting price for the V8 (auto only) 362 hp G8 GT, which is still a hell of a lot of car. The GXP will be...what...40ish?

But, yes, more than the CTS-V, this is the car that I want to own.

Am I a looser for thinking I rather have the E90 M3 over this? Mind this is cool, has gobs of torque, is cheap to acquire and run, etc. But a great motor alone does nor make a great car.

Knowing jack shit, and having driven neither, the ultimate compromise machine is overpriced but sweet. The Pontiac could be a dud with a great engine. Let's hope they learned from the GTO.

[TD]

Originally Posted by FC

Am I a looser for thinking I rather have the E90 M3 over this? Mind this is cool, has gobs of torque, is cheap to acquire and run, etc. But a great motor alone does nor make a great car.

Knowing jack shit, and having driven neither, the ultimate compromise machine is overpriced but sweet. The Pontiac could be a dud with a great engine. Let's hope they learned from the GTO.

There is a lot of money between this and an M3. There is also something about a 430hp American V8. And, for those of us with kids, this thing is pretty large. Then there's the reverse-snob appeal. And the interior is MUCH better looking than an E90's.