By 2008, Pontiac was in trouble. The brand’s sales had been falling off a cliff for the past two years, and things were only going to go from bad to worse over the next two. Some at the company may have felt the writing was on the wall and there were some who felt it was time to go big or go home. The brand was now leaning fully into performance thanks to the addition of models like the G8 to the lineup, and GXP was set to be the performance sub-brand to rival the best around the world.
What those three funky letters stood for is still up for debate to this day, but we know they meant business, and that business was performance. The badge quickly found its way onto models like the G8 and Torrent, but the wildest iteration of the badge was saved for the basic G6. This car was given a healthy upgrade in performance, but more importantly, a makeover that was a shock to the senses. This is the story of the G6 GXP, a car the world forgot about, and maybe for good reason.
Pontiac Wanted The G6 To Be A Front-Wheel Drive Muscle Car
Pontiac had big ambitions for the G6. Launched in 2005 as a replacement for the aging Grand Am, the model was meant to be a modern overhaul, with cleaner, sportier styling that would attract customers who valued performance and comfort. Right from the beginning, the brand offered it with three different engines: two V6s and an inline-four, with the V6s taking up much of the bulk of the lineup.
At first, there were two sporty trims: the GT and GTP. The GT came with a 3.5-liter inline six, suspension adjustments, better brakes, and sportier looks. The GTP built upon this with a more powerful 3.9-liter V6 and a little more of everything else. Sales were initially strong, with the vehicle posting almost 150,000 sales in 2005, before exceeding that threshold the following three years. When 2008 arrived, the company wanted to improve an already great formula, and it planned to do that by imbuing the sedan with even more performance.
In 2004, Pontiac unveiled a concept at SEMA called the G6 GXP. It sported exterior styling reminiscent of the recent GTO, Bilstein suspension, a 276-hp V6, and a six-speed manual. Attendees were impressed, as it gave the car more character and performance without messing with what made it so great in the first place. Pontiac was slow to roll it out, but a few years later, amid Bob Lutz’s calculated performance amplification of the entire GM lineup, Pontiac announced the G6 GXP was on the way, along with the introduction of the G8 and Torrent GXP.
At the core of the new model sat a high-output 3.6-liter V6, which had arrived a year earlier in the GTP the GXP now replaced. It was shared with vehicles like the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu, and here it produced 252 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque. A healthy amount for a mid-sized sedan, and enough to make it one of the most powerful cars in its class. Journalists and buyers were salivating over what could have turned out to be one of the best new performance cars on sale, but when the car was finally revealed in all its glory, reactions were mixed, to say the least.
The Designers May Have Taken The Looks Too Far
Before we get to the performance, we have to talk about the styling of the GXP. When Pontiac released the G6 in 2005, people loved the car because it simplified the Pontiac formula. The plastic cladding of previous models was gone, but classic Pontiac design cues like the snout nose were elegantly incorporated. Thanks to a raking beltline and a forward-leaning appearance, it also looked sporty, and the innovative four-panel panoramic sunroof was a neat party trick.
It was a model buyers could get behind, if they could get past all the plastic in the interior, and if the company accentuated without going overboard, a high-performance model could have been quite the hit. However, it seems the designers at Pontiac couldn’t give up their designs of the past, because when the GXP was unveiled to the world, it was a shock to the senses.
The company had elongated the front fascia of the car, adding more venting and enlarging the nostrils. The new aero package visually lowered the car, along with larger wheels and twin stainless steel exhausts that added pops of chrome. Honestly, from the rear, we don’t hate it, and the front shows up decently in some pictures, but see one in person, and you quickly see the design looks like something crafted by a 16-year-old on Need for Speed Underground while hopped up on too much Red Bull.
A new “Street Edition” package was also offered, and here’s where it really went off the rails. The purpose of the package was to add a little more “street cred” to the car, by way of some venting on the hood, and one of the most absurd spoilers we’ve ever seen. Pontiac dubbed it a “hammerhead” spoiler, and while the version on the sedan wasn’t unthinkable, the one on the coupe was so extreme, it was hard not to stand back and just wonder, “why?”
To make matters worse, the Street Edition package was also available on the GT models, and on those, it added the aforementioned details, along with fascia redesigns and new wheels that made the GT look like the GXP. Why on earth would you want a lower trim to look the same as the top trim? To confuse consumers from across the parking lot? Barely any of it made sense, and that was before you realized the performance of the GXP wasn’t that much better than the GT.
Surprisingly Quick, And Not Terrible To Drive
Pontiac always envisioned the G6 as a line of vehicles with powerful engines, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. By 2008, there were four different engine options available, and three of them were V6s. The GT made use of a 3.5-liter V6 that produced 219 horsepower and 219 lb-ft of torque, but an optional 3.9-liter V6 on the convertible bumped that up to 222 hp and 238 lb-ft of torque.
However, moving up to the GXP gave you access to the high-output 3.6-liter V6, which gave you access to 252 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque, capable of rocketing this FWD vehicle to 60 mph in about 6.2 seconds. This was faster than about anything in its class – Mazda 6, Accord, Camry, etc. – and faster than the G6 GT, which managed the feat in about 7.7 seconds. That’s over a second quicker, making the G6 an enticing option for highway merging and stoplight drag races, but everywhere else the experience sort of… fell apart.
Move to a back road, and journalists were quick to point out that the vehicle wasn’t all that settled, with poor damping and springs that often felt too high-sprung. This was the same suspension as the GT, something Pontiac just referred to as “Sport” in brochures, with the only real difference on the GXP being the addition of stickier rubber. Shifting was also poor, as the six-speed manumatic was sluggish to change gears during spirited driving, and manually shifting only made matters worse. The brakes were solid, but if it wasn’t really rewarding getting up to speed, what’s the point?
Coming in about $4,000 more expensive, the GXP offered a little more speed than the GT, and that’s about it. The looks were hit or miss, but too outlandish for most buyers, so how could you say it was worth the price? It was a shock value vehicle, one that made a grand entrance and a quick exit, but spend any real time behind the wheel, and you’d quickly pull back the curtain to reveal you’d been duped.
A Forgotten Relic Of Pontiac’s Final Days
Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on who you ask – the G6 GXP’s life was cut short. It arrived in the throes of the Great Recession, so it was never given a fair shake, and two years later, Pontiac was on the chopping block after decades of muscle car glory.
GM never separated the G6 sales, so it’s hard to say how many G6 GXPs were sold in its short time span; however, estimates peg it around 2,500. That means around 2,500 people walked into a dealership, saw the car sitting on the lot, and said, “I’ll take one of those, thank you very much,” before smugly answering, “Why, no, I’m planning on surprising my husband/wife with it!” How many relationships do we think this vehicle unceremoniously tore apart in that short timeframe? 2,500, maybe?
We know we’re being harsh, but it’s all in good fun. Here at CarBuzz, we love to champion the weird vehicles, the underdogs of the automotive world. We’re particularly fond of Pontiac, a brand that we and many others believe could have gone on to have a resurgence as GM’s performance brand of sorts. However, that’s not how things shook out, and the G6 GXP is an ugly car. Unique? Interesting? Memorable? All the above, but it’s still an ugly car, one we have no doubt has passionate fans all across the world ready to rip us to shreds in the comments.
If you’ve ever owned one of these cars, we’d love to hear from you. Have the looks grown on you? Does it drive better than the reviews let on? This writer was fortunate to experience a ride in one once, but that model had well over 200,000 miles, and the driver may have broken about two dozen traffic laws during the escapade, so it didn’t do much to sway our opinion. We leave that up to you, and we’re ready to be enlightened.
Sources: GM, Motortrend, Car And Driver
