A 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible equipped with a Tri-Power V8 and four-speed manual is enough to get any muscle car enthusiast’s attention. One that’s covered barely 20,000 miles over six decades makes things a lot more interesting.
This particular GTO also spent much of its life tucked away rather than accumulating years of modifications and restorations. Its Cameo Ivory paint, black interior, and period appearance hide a history connected to several of the biggest names from Pontiac’s glory days.
According to Mecum, the car was originally purchased by Petersen Publishing’s Motor Trend and George Hurst of Hurst Performance Products. Jim Wangers, the marketing mastermind closely associated with the GTO, also played an important role in what happened next.
Now showing just 20,678 miles, the unrestored convertible is heading to Mecum’s Kissimmee 2027 auction on January 15. Its significance goes well beyond being another low-mileage first-generation GTO.
It’s The Only Known Riverside Pace Car Survivor
Two similar GTO convertibles were prepared as official pace cars for the 1965 Motor Trend Riverside 500. Wangers devised a promotion in which both would ultimately be given away, turning the cars themselves into part of the event.
One went to race winner Dan Gurney, while this example was awarded to a ticket holder through a promotional raffle. Gurney’s GTO is believed to have been crushed years ago, leaving this car as the only one of the pair known to survive.
The raffle winner apparently understood what he had. Mecum says the car was driven sparingly for three years before being sold to a collector who stored it until 1996, helping explain its remarkably low mileage today.
This Was The First Car Ever Fitted With Hurst Wheels
Its history actually started before the Riverside race. Mecum says this was the first car ever fitted with the now-famous Hurst mag wheels, which were installed in December 1964.
George Hurst used the GTO to introduce the wheels publicly at the Ambassador Hotel Wheel Press Party on January 5, 1965. Period photographs show Hurst standing inside the convertible surrounded by the Hurst Girls, with Linda Vaughn — perhaps better known as Miss Hurst — sitting prominently on the hood.
Even more remarkably, the original wheels remain on the car. They carry October 1964 date codes and individual stamped serial numbers 000019, 000021, 000025, and 000028.
Its 389 Tri-Power V8 Makes 360 HP
The historical significance doesn’t come at the expense of a desirable specification. Under the hood is Pontiac’s 389-cubic-inch Tri-Power V8, rated at 360 hp and paired with a synchronized four-speed manual transmission.
A 3.55 Saf-T-Track differential sends power to the rear wheels, while the car was also ordered with the ride and handling package, power steering, and power brakes. Bucket seats, a center console, rally gauges with a tachometer, and a custom sport steering wheel round out the equipment.
Mecum describes the GTO as original and unrestored, although the Riverside Pace Car lettering currently on the body was recreated from period photographs. Documentation includes its original Protect-O-Plate made out to Motor Trend and a 1964 California title application naming George Hurst and Hurst & Campbell Company.
It’s Heading To Kissimmee In January
Dana and Patti Mecum acquired the GTO in 2007 alongside the famous 1965 Hurst GeeTO Tiger, reuniting the two historically significant Pontiacs. The pair later spent around a decade in collector Bob Marvin’s collection before the Mecums acquired them again.
Mecum hasn’t published a pre-auction estimate for the Riverside car. Its combination of provenance, originality, mileage, and Hurst history makes predicting the final number particularly difficult.
Plenty of 1965 GTOs have survived the past 61 years, but only this one can claim to be the surviving Riverside pace car that introduced the world to Hurst wheels.