Man was called to remove 'old junk car' from property and turned up to find 'GOAT' muscle car
- A man was called to remove an ‘old junk car’ from a yard
- The ‘junk’ car in question turned out to be a 1966 Pontiac GTO
- People sometimes call this the ‘GOAT’ muscle car
Published on Sep 30, 2024 at 4:30 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Sep 30, 2024 at 7:16 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
An ‘old junk car’ in the middle of nowhere in the US turned out to be a rare GOAT muscle car.
The owner of the property that incorporates the yard just wanted the car gone, because they thought it was just old junk, but it wasn’t.
In fact, this car is everything but junk.
It’s a 1966 Pontiac GTO that’s worth a lot of cash, even in this condition.
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Definitely not ‘junk’
YouTuber Salvage Adventures documented the whole thing, and he was shocked to find out that the ‘junk’ car in question was actually a 1966 Pontiac GTO.
There’s no universe in which you can use the words ‘junk’ and ‘1966 Pontiac GTO’ in the same sentence.
Still, as ever, somebody’s loss is someone else’s gain.
The owner clearly doesn’t want the GTO in his yard, so somebody else will be able to pick it up and restore it.
Tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Meet the Goat muscle car
People sometimes refer to the GTO as the GOAT muscle car but the true reason behind this is unclear.
Some believe say this is because the GTO popularized muscle cars in the 1960s.
But if that’s the case, the nickname was definitely given posthumously because the expression ‘GOAT’, i.e., Greatest of All Time, didn’t really exist back then.
Others say that GOAT is simply another way of pronouncing GTO, which stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for Homologated Grand Tourer.
When Pontiac execs had to come up with a name for their new cars, they found their inspiration in the Ferrari 250 GTO, and so they just copied both the name as well as the meaning of the name.
Pontiac built 96,946 GTOs in 1966, and 77,901 of those came with the four-barrel 389 engine.
So, statistically, this car is probably powered by that very engine.
About the Pontiac GTO
The first-gen Pontiac GTO was unveiled in 1963 and deliveries began one year later, in 1964.
Between the mid 1960s and the mid 2000s, Pontiac produced five generations of the GTO, but only the first four generations are generally remembered and praised.
The fifth generation is the odd one out, chiefly because in the early 2000s, when the car debuted, Pontiac shared its platforms with Holden in Australia and Vauxhall in the UK.
The first-gen is the one everyone loves.
Partly because it’s the one that symbolizes the brand and model, but also because there are so many great stories that come with it.
Not long ago, a son bought the very same GTO his dad used to drive when he was his age.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
