For 1971, Pontiac’s legendary GTO was marketed as a part of the Series 42 Tempest line up. The famous “Goat” still came in two-door hardtop and soft-top models. Pontiac factory dealers paid $2,612.25 to get a Model 24237 hardtop with a suggested retail price of $3,446. The Model 24267 convertible wholesaled to dealers for $2,788.83 and went on the lots for as little as $3,676. Both models shared a 112-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 202.3 inches. The two-door hardtop weighed 3,619 lbs. and the convertible tipped the scales at 3,664 lbs.
Larger grille cavities and round front parking lamps were changes seen in the front end of the ’71 GTO. The hood now had twin air slots at the front. The GTO came with all features of the LeMans Sport model plus an engine-turned aluminum instrument panel insert, special front-end styling with an Endura front bumper, a special hood with forward-mounted simulated air-intake scoops, a 400-cid four-barrel V-8, a heavy-duty three-speed manual transmission with floor-mounted gear shifter, dual exhausts with extensions exiting through the rear valance panel, a Power-Flex cooling fan, a 1-1/8-inch diameter front stabilizer bar, a rear stabilizer bar, high-rate shock absorbers, high-rate springs, G70-14 black sidewall tires and GTO identification emblems.
The number of engine and transmission combinations available in the GTO was cut from 17 to 10. The base 400-cid V-8 was installed in 6,421 hardtops and 508 convertibles with a manual gear box and 2,011 hardtops and 79 convertibles with automatic transmission. It had an 8.2:1 compression ratio and a single four-barrel carburetor and was good for 300 hp at 4800 rpm and 400 lbs.-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm The 455-cid V-8 went into 534 hardtops and 43 convertibles, all with the four-speed manual gear box. This engine also had an 8.2:1 compression ratio and a Rochester 4MV four-barrel carburetor. It developed 325 hp at 4400 rpm and 455 lbs.-ft. of torque at 3200 rpm
A 455-cid HO engine was used in some non-Judge-optioned GTOs. This engine had an 8.4:1 compression ratio and a four-barrel carburetor. It produced 335 nhp at 4800 rpm and 480 lbs.-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm. It was used in 412 hardtops and 23 convertibles with stick shift and 476 hardtops and 21 convertibles with Turbo-Hydra-Matic. The regular GTO hardtop had a 9,497-unit production run.
