2012 Pontiac Trans AM

2011 Pontiac GTO

Purists won't rejoice, but The new 2011 Pontiac GTO is as close to a spiritual successor as GM can offer today. There's more speed, more safety, better handling, and a world-class power plant. It's rivaled only by Dodge's new Hemi in authentic V-8 rumble and roar, something no version of Ford's modular V-8s seems to capture. 
With 350 hp at 5200 rpm and 365 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm, nearly any gear in the standard six-speed manual is appropriate for sliding around SUVs and the like on two-laners; two-cog gear drops rocket you ahead of whole packs of slow-moving cars with dizzying pace. 
The four-speed automatic, though it sounds a little anachronistic, is even more fitting to the big two-door's personality and barely slower. Pontiac claims The 2011 Pontiac Gto will accelerate to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds in manual-equipped versions, a tick slower with the automatic. The manual will run through the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds at 105 mph, in the same time but 3 mph faster than the automatic. Short of a Corvette, General Motors can't offer you much else that's faster or sleeker or V-8 powered.