Recently Motor Trend, Hagerty Insurance, and the Lingenfelter Collection (owned by Ken Lingenfelter) came together to film a video series called Generation Gap. The show is hosted by two presenters, Davin and Matt, and although each of them appreciate cars form all makes and eras, each host has their own taste.
Davin, for one, prefers the classic breed of muscle cars; such as Chevelles and Novas, while Matt prefers late-model performance cars equipped with fuel injection and ECUs. Their job, is to compare two cars from two different eras, and share with the viewer which one is best in terms of collectibility, passion, performance, looks, and ease of ownership.
The cars in question? Those would be none other than Pontiac’s midsize musclecar, the GTO. Representing carburetors and points, is a Carousel Red (it looks orange, but trust us, that’s what the color is called) ’69 GTO Judge with the Ram Air III 400 ci. V8- which was good for 366 (gross) hp. There was an optional Ram Air IV variant in 1969 that earned the 400 another four horsepower, although Ken’s example isn’t so equipped.
Standing in for those of us who grew up in the video game era, is a Brazen Orange 2006 GTO. Although a run-of-the-mill Brazen Goat would have sufficed, the particular example in the Lingenfelter Collection is the 2006 SEMA show car equipped with a twin turbo 402 ci. LS2 stroker, a wide body kit, C6 Z06 brakes, HRE wheels, and several other cosmetic and performance touches. As a result, it puts down a conservative 750 hp to the tires.
While we don’t want to spoil any surprises, we’ll just have to admit that both are beautiful examples of GM muscle for their respective eras, and we would be proud to own either of the two. What about you?
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles; GM, Ford, Dodge, imports, trucks — you name it! When he isn’t clacking away on his keyboard, he’s building, tuning, driving or testing his current crop of personal projects!
