1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
Evolved from the landmark GTO muscle car
Flashy graphics and bodywork enhancements appealed to young buyers
Best-equipped muscle car for the money
Named derived from Ferrari’s Sports Racer and Pop Culture TV Show
The GTO Judge is a special edition Pontiac high performance option package that combines a high output 400 cubic inch V8 Engine with attention grabbing bold graphics and visual body style. This GTO Judge presented in Carousel Red is the first year of availability in the second-generation GTO body. In 1964 John DeLorean’s performance treatment to the budget-oriented Tempest mid-sized model gave birth to a new era of street cars that would revolutionize the automobile market. Called the GTO after a successful Ferrari Sports Racer, a large bore V8 engine swap transformed the mild-mannered Tempest family car into a tire burning street racer. Other manufacturers followed suit with their own versions of midsized performance coupes and the Muscle Car Era was born.
As Pontiac looked to answer competition from other marques such as the Chevy Malibu and the Plymouth Road Runner, “The Judge” was introduced as an options package for 1969 Pontiac GTOs. Calling the car “The Judge” derived from skits on the popular Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In TV program where comedian Flip Wilson would call out “Here comes da’ Judge”. Applied graphics and decals in colorful “mod” cartoon fonts made the car very popular with younger buyers looking to make a statement on the street.
The Judge was initially designed to be a lower priced package GTO with fewer standard equipment than the base GTO, but as cosmetic options were dropped, the power to weight ratio increased and the Judge became the best performing GTO available.
The car retained its Three Pod theme instrument panel as in previous GTO’s but with a deluxe 4 speed Hurst Shifter and ram air induction feeding a 4-barrel carb. Optional gauges included an external hood mounted tachometer. By 1973, the GTO’s sales were ebbing and “The Judge” badging no longer could drive buyers into the Pontiac showrooms. The muscle car era was drawing to a close.
Specifications:
Engine: V8 400 cubic inch, Ram Air Induction 4 Barrel Carburetor
Transmission: 4 Speed manual, Hurst Shifter
Performance: 366 horsepower, 0-60 mph 6.0 seconds, ¼ mile 14.45 seconds