John DeLorean (1925–2005) revolutionized the American auto industry by spearheading the creation of the Pontiac GTO , widely regarded as the first true muscle car. DeLorean, alongside engineers Bill Collins and Russ Gee, wanted to target young buyers with high-performance vehicles, moving away from GM's focus on older demographics. As a rebellious Pontiac engineer in the early 1960s, he violated a GM policy against putting large engines in mid-size cars by stuffing a V8 into the Pontiac...

For the 1967 model year of the GTO, Pontiac discontinued the infamous 389 tri-power setup and introduced a 400-cid engine. The reason...