2004 Pontiac GTO

General Motors may tap its Australian division Holden to provide a high-performance, rear-drive coupe for Pontiac, filling the portfolio gap to be left by the Firebird when it retires at the end of the 2002 model year. Originally, the Commodore sedan was slated to arrive here as the new Chevy Impala SS, but now GM is looking at the Monaro coupe to be imported as a Pontiac.

When we caught wind of the Aussie connection months ago, talk was that the Monaro was under consideration for a Camaro replacement, though that stood in conflict with other insider reports. The name "GTO" had been flung around for some time, but now we have a product on which to affix the respected badge. In fact, it is already wearing a GTO badge. The high-performance HSV group produces two hot Monaro models, the GTO 255 and the GTS 300, each using an enhanced Gen III 5.7-liter aluminum V-8. The top GTS model even boasts an engine warmed over by tuner Callaway for a prodigious 400-horsepower output. The photo illustration presented here is our best guess at how the styling would be adapted to Pontiac, building off the more subtle Monaro. We're told by insiders that the current view is that the face would carry essential Pontiac cues, but the rear would remain untouched.

More conservative in appearance than the current 'Bird, the name change would be a historic nod to the super sleeper, original GTO that helped put "muscle car" into the vernacular. The modern Monaro could address many of the aging Firebird's packaging issues while retaining its high-horsepower, high-value equation. And it would keep excitement burning white hot at Pontiac for years to come.