The 1968 GTO was a totally new car on the outside. The GTO received a totally redesigned body shell for 1968 that departed from the styling of the past. The swoopy new body flowed the C-pillar into the rear quarter, and the lines were rounder and more bulging. The GTO looked muscular without a trace of fat. Part of the stunning new look was due to the fact that the wheel-base had been shortened by 3in, from 115 to 112.

The most noticeable change was the new front bumper. The bumper was made from a material called Endura. With its application to the new frontend design, the flexible, space-age material was able to absorb low-speed front-end impacts and bounce back to its original shape in a short amount of time (24hr.) Also, the characteristics of the material actually allowed the car to bounce away from the object it encountered. But the stylists also loved the material since it allowed the coloring of the bumper to match the shade of the body itself, along with providing a smoother overall appearance. In fact, it was hard to tell where the front bumper ended and the sheet metal of the front fenders began. It was certainly a dramatic improvement over the previous metal front ends. If the buyer did not like the new bumper, a conventional chrome bumper, from the LeMans, was optional. Another option that was available, were headlights that were hidden in the blackout-grille openings with the lids opening when the lights were activated by a vacuum controlled switch.

The centered single hood scoop of the previous year had been dropped for the twin scoops, which would continue for a number of the following years. The new twin scooped hood was designed to hide the windshield wipers

A GTO emblem was used on the left front grille opening and on the right rear part of the deck lid. Replacing the emblems on the rear fenders were GTO decals. The GTO 6.5 liter crest was located behind the front wheelwell on the front fenders. Out back the bumper was still chromed and now incorporated the taillamps . The deck extended almost to the sloping rear window and ran down to the edge of the bumper. A smaller GTO nameplate appeared on the right-hand side of the decklid. Bright moldings trimmed the window openings and front and rear glass.

Both a convertible and hardtop were offered. New for 1968 was a shatterproof rear glass for the convertible. Another nice touch was the use of a Pontiac-shaped marker light immediately aft of the GTO decal.

Two Rally Gauge clusters were available in 1968, one with tachometer and one with clock. When a customer ordered a hood-mounted tachometer, he or she could also order the RPO 484 cluster with clock. The steering colunm and wheel were similar to 1967. The optional console was heavily padded, and the Strato bucket seats received new upholstery. The door panels were also redone, and the door release handles were incorporated into the massive armrests, with the traditional GTO emblem just above. While the outside was all new, the GTO's powertrains were carried over from 1967. The brakes were a carry-over from 1967, as were the front and rear suspensions. On the exhaust system, automatic-equipped cars got a 2 in. tailpipe and manual-equipped cars came with larger 2.25 in. tailpipes. Chrome exhaust extensions were optional.

The popular dual-gate shifter would see its final year with the 1968 GTO, also having been available with the 1967 model. Six different transmissions were available for a 1968 GTO, the standard being a threespeed manual transmission with Hurst shifter. There were two choices of fourspeed manual transmissions for 1968, a wide-ratio M20 four-speed was available for rear-end gear ratios up to 3.90:1. The other option was a close-ratio M21 fourspeed available for cars equipped with 3.90:1 or 4.33:l rear-end gear ratios. Three different Hydra-Matics were available for 1968, one for Ram Air cars, one for 2bbl cars only, and one for all other applications

The standard engine was the 400 ci V8 rated at 350 hp. The economy 400 ci V8 was available only with the automatic transmission and was rated at 265 hp. The 400 HO, rated at 360 hp, was the first performance engine option, followed by the 400 Ram Air, also rated at 360 hp. The Ram Air engine was replaced by the Ram Air II engine in March -of 1968. The Ram Air II came with forged pistons, a forged steel crankshaft and new cylinder heads that featured round exhaust ports. Not available with air conditioning, it was rated at 366 hp and could be had with either the M21 closeratio four-speed manual or the three-speed automatic. Only one axle ratio was available, 4.33:1, and the Safe-T-Track limited slip was a mandatory option. An interesting touch with the Ram Air engines was the fact that the induction systems, which connected the hood scoops to the top of the carburetor, were not installed at the factory but arrived in the trunk for dealer installation. The scoops were also painted by the dealer to match the car's color. The system was not driver controlled, but rather the driver was expected to replace the open scoops with the standard nonfunctional scoops during bad weather.

Rally I and Rally II wheels were optional. These were unchanged with the exception of the Rally Il's lug nuts, which had black inserts. Three other wheel covers were available: the Deluxe wheel covers, which were a radial spoke design; the Custom wheel covers, which came with eight round openings; and the wire wheel covers, which were a carry-over from 1967. All wheels measured 14 x 6 in.

PMD really had its act together with this fifth GTO as it was the bestseller of all the Goats. The striking total was 87,684, with the hardtop being the bestseller as expected at 77,704 units. Even though the GTO was supposedly a performance machine of the first order, few buyers chose the performance engine. Maybe they figured that the standard 400-ci engine was powerful enough with a vast majority of 73,793 making the low-power choice.

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This Home Page was created Saturday, February 20, 1999
Most recent revision Friday, January, 31th, 2003