GOAT vs. Goat
The Irreverence: Fun, Provocative, Daring, and Never Boring
There's a lot of lore around our GTO-versus-GTO test from 1964. Pitting a Pontiac against a Ferrari sent tweed caps spinning. It's healthy to challenge conventional wisdom and not get swept up in aggrandizing mythology. Seriousness and certainty are the enemies of creativity. GTO versus GTO also served as inspiration for pitting a 2025 Jeep Wrangler—a solid-axle, recirculating-ball-steering, body-on-frame horseshoe crab—against a 1968 Pontiac GTO. The experiment challenges testing director Dave VanderWerp's long-held theory that today's worst-handling vehicle is better than the venerated 1960s muscle car.
Settling arguments is often the basis for story ideas, and one particular debate regarding the magnitude of vehicular progress over the past six decades seemed perfect to tackle on the occasion of our 70th anniversary. The question is this: Could the much-heralded, world-beating muscle cars of the 1960s keep up on a back-road blast with even the least coordinated vehicles on sale today?
"It's hard to imagine anything worse than this dynamically," remarks executive editor K.C. Colwell after a plunge through our rough-and-tumble evaluation loop in rural Michigan in a 2025 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392. A vehicle, in fairness, whose extended ground clearance, solid front and rear axles, knobby 35-inch all-terrain tires, body-on-frame construction, and recirculating-ball steering are completely at odds with ripping down paved roads.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
Yet its imprecision and 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 make for a riotous and comedic duo. The dynamic rightness that allows for inhaling corners in today's best sports cars at two or three times their recommended speed earns deep admiration and respect, but it doesn't lead to uncontrollable belly laughing like sawing away at the helm of a Wrangler midcorner and realizing how far you can move the wheel and still have zero effect on the direction the car is pointed. Or laying into the throttle exiting a turn, the Hemi hoisting the Jeep's nose in the air while twisting the rear end like a shammy and screaming a deep-throated bellow all the while. Not since the 2006 Chevy Impala SS that sent V-8 power coursing through the front wheels has anything felt so overpowered or had so few chassis modifications to cope with the additional thrust. Cars today are too sophisticated, too buttoned up, too serious.
Although a Wrangler with the base 285-hp V-6 would be a closer accelerative equal to the 1960s brutes, we went V-8 anyway. After all, the Wrangler 392, and the willingness of buyers to fork over more than $100,000 to buy one, demonstrates the continued brilliance of the idea of stuffing a big engine into a small car (or truck). It's kind of surprising such an inspired formula didn't emerge earlier, before bubbling out of John Z. DeLorean's team—yes, that DeLorean—at Pontiac in the 1960s. Well, the idea was the easy part. In what could in hindsight be recognized as the start of a pattern of deception, DeLorean first sold dealers on the idea of turning the Tempest coupe into the high-powered GTO in order to force it through the bureaucracy of General Motors, which, at the time, forbade the unbridled awesomeness of such a large engine in a relatively small car.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
Naturally, we wanted a Pontiac GTO for this story, given our history with the nameplate, which began with a March 1964 cover depicting that first Pontiac GTO chasing its namesake Ferrari. Although we never actually got those two GTOs together for that GTO-versus-GTO story—nor did we claim to—the mere suggestion took on a life of its own. But we concluded with what today would be categorized as a serious hot take: "What does surprise us is that we found the Tempest GTO a better car, in some respects, than most current production Ferraris." As is still a regular occurrence today, outraged responses from our readers followed quickly.
Our GTO this time around came by way of our managing road test editor, Becca Hackett, whose father has owned this second-generation 1968 convertible for 23 years. This one is powered by a 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) monster of a V-8 that was donated from a 1971 Catalina a year after Pontiac started offering this largest engine in the GTO.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
It's rare that a 6.4-liter Hemi feels down on torque, but that's the case when the comparison point is Pontiac's beastly 455. We totally understand how our predecessors 61 years ago would fall for this engine and positive-action four-speed manual. Well, it wasn't exactly this engine—and in fact, in that '64 story, they didn't know which engine it was either. We were told the 1964 GTO was powered by the 389-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V-8, lightly warmed over by Royal Pontiac of Royal Oak, Michigan. But Jim Wangers, chief of Pontiac's advertising agency, fessed up years later in his memoir that the car was a lightweighted cheater powered by a hopped-up 421. It probably wasn't the first time someone pulled one over on us, and it certainly wasn't the last. So it's no wonder the 13.1-second quarter-mile time we recorded in 1964—identical to today's Jeep Wrangler 392's—grew to 15.1 seconds when we tested a legit production 1964 GTO powered by a 389 V-8 20 years later.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
Michael Simari
|
Car and Driver
This GTO's gargantuan V-8 revs surprisingly quickly, considering the displacement and technology. The optimum launch point with this 3.55:1 axle ratio is only about 600 rpm above the 455's throbbing 1200-rpm idle—any higher leads to instant wheelspin. With this much torque, is it even physically possible to stall this engine? You ride a light roasting of the rear tires all the way up through first gear and then get a healthy squawk with a quick shift into second and again into third. A gorilla beating its chest doesn't exude the muscularity of the GTO's enveloping low-pitched roar. It's not a revver, as the maximum recommended speed is 5100 rpm, a point by which it's thoroughly out of breath anyway. You're in fourth before you reach the quarter-mile, which we hit in 15.2 seconds at 93 mph. But both the quarter-mile and the 6.5-second 60-mph time would improve dramatically if more modern, sticky tires than these all-season BFGoodrich Radial T/As were available in these classic sizes.
With four-wheel launch traction and gobs more power, the Jeep chirps its front tires on the way to a 4.2-second run to 60 mph. Its straight-line win is no surprise. What is remarkable is that the GTO nearly keeps pace in the 50-to-70-mph passing test, even without the benefit of a downshift. Also, considering that the cars' build dates are many decades apart, it's uncanny how similar the magnitude of slop in their recirculating-ball steering is, as is the level of shake in their body-on-frame structures. But you feel the Jeep's elevated ride height, which imparts far more head toss. Steering feel apparently had yet to be invented in the 1960s, and the GTO's helm is absolutely and completely devoid of anything approaching feedback. Even when the tires start squealing, there's zero change in the steering effort.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
By 1968, GTOs were available with front discs, and the Pontiac's brakes feel way better on the road than we expected. In our 70-mph braking test, we stood on them as hard as we could without causing lockup, which is why the 307-foot stopping distance isn't any better.
What does 60 years of evolution get you? Other than modern features, conveniences, and electronics, the overarching difference with the newer Jeep is isolation. Not from the road; the GTO has that part handled. But you feel its engine constantly thrumming in your backside, and wind noise drowns out conversations. We thought 73 decibels at 70 mph was loud in the Wrangler, with its optional power-operated Sky Top—a hard top with a fabric section in the center that slides open like a sunroof. But the GTO, with an 82-decibel racket, has so much wind noise that you wonder if the top is up or down (although this example may not represent factory-grade sealing).
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
The Wrangler also keeps the V-8's thermal excesses from reaching the cabin. In the GTO, heat pours out from between the shift boot and the lever, and it feels like the driver's seat might be part of the cooling circuit. It makes you wonder how much of the combusted fuel is actually going toward propulsion, which is a good question. The engine was rated at 325 horsepower in its day (that was an SAE-gross figure), but the number dropped to 250 horses in 1972, when Pontiac started reporting net horsepower figures.
Jump off the gas in the Wrangler, and a computer controls the rate at which the throttle plate closes to smooth out anything unbecoming, whereas you're in complete control of the GTO's mechanical linkage. The Jeep's exhaust note gets flatulent in its loud mode, when the engine puts four cylinders to sleep to improve efficiency, another modern "convenience."
The Jeep's Hemi did eke out a fuel-economy win—12 mpg to the GTO's 11—which is impressive, considering it makes 88 percent more power and is propelling over 1600 more pounds. We suppose that's what comes with 55 years of pushrod-engine development, although the Jeep also has twice as many gear ratios in its transmission.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
Neck protection was a thing of the future in 1968, a time when driver distraction was primarily the vehicle's doing (the noise, the heat, the imprecise steering and handling, the weak brakes).
Despite the GTO's relative and genuine light weight compared to modern cars—although it's more than a foot longer, it weighs roughly the same as a rear-wheel-drive BMW M340i—every touchpoint, from the way the doors slam to the shift lever, has a fantastic, high-quality heft to it.
But back to cutting up back roads. The Jeep takes a better, more reliable set in corners, and it feels like the level of grip at the onset of tire squeal is roughly double that of the GTO. Behind the Pontiac's long hood, every sweeping curve becomes a half-dozen or more mini corners, depending on what bumps are present and the camber or crown of the surface. Apply steering, wait for the car to respond, and be ready to correct, then correct some more. Sometimes you can see the right side of the car shaking over a sequence of bumps that you don't really feel in the driver's seat. It's like piloting multiple vehicles flying in close formation and not being totally sure which one you're controlling.
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
However, on the smooth skidpad, the GTO on modern tires is much friendlier. We found it relatively easy to hold it at the limit—the Pontiac handily outgripped the Jeep, 0.73 g to 0.68 g—and adding some throttle brings the rear end around slowly and controllably. That's good, because catching a tank slapper in the GTO is a low-probability event, even with steering that, at 2.8 turns lock to lock, is over twice as direct as the original GTO's.
But to answer the question that brought us here: Although the Jeep Wrangler is comically bad in the tightest and twistiest sections, each and every time, no matter which of us was driving, it easily walked away from the GTO. According to the transitive property, that makes the Wrangler better than plenty of now-multimillion-dollar classic Ferraris.
Specifications
Specifications
2025 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392
Vehicle Type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door convertible
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $101,990/$109,570
Options: Sky One-Touch power top, $3995; Mopar air compressor, $1995; Mopar heavy-duty full-flooring system, $995; Granite Crystal Metallic Clear paint, $595
ENGINE
pushrod 16-valve V-8, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 392 in3, 6417 cm3
Power: 470 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 470 lb-ft @ 4300 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: live axle/live axle
Brakes, F/R: 13.0-in vented disc/13.8-in vented disc
Tires: BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
LT315/70R-17 113/110S M+S 3PMSF
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 118.4 in
Length: 192.5 in
Width: 79.3 in
Height: 75.5 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 54/50 ft3
Cargo Volume: 32 ft3
Curb Weight: 5465 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.2 sec
100 mph: 12.3 sec
1/4-Mile: 13.1 sec @ 102 mph
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.1 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.5 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 110 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 206 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.68 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
150-mi Trip: 12 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 14/13/16 mpg
--
1968 Pontiac GTO convertible
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $28,000*/$29,000*
*Prices when new, adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars
ENGINE
pushrod 16-valve V-8, iron block and heads, 2-barrel carburetor
Displacement: 455 in3, 7455 cm3
Power: 250 hp @ 3600 rpm
Torque: 375 lb-ft @ 2400 rpm
TRANSMISSION
4-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axle
Brakes, F/R: 11.1-in vented disc/9.5-in drum
Tires: BFGoodrich Radial T/A
F: P235/60R-15 98S M+S
R: P275/60R-15 107S M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 112.0 in
Length: 200.7 in
Width: 74.8 in
Height: 53.4 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 55/32 ft3
Cargo Volume: 10 ft3
Curb Weight: 3812 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.5 sec
100 mph: 17.8 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.2 sec @ 93 mph
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.4 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.7 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.7 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.8 sec
Top Speed (C/D est): 116 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 307 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.73 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
150-mi Trip: 11 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City/Highway: not/good mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Dave VanderWerp
Director, Vehicle Testing
Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver's vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.
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