Wanting to avoid internal competition with the "Euro-styled" Pontiac Grand Am, and looking for an entry into the compact muscle market populated by the Plymouth Duster 360, Ford Maverick Grabber, and AMC Hornet X, Pontiac moved the 1974 GTO option to the compact Pontiac Ventura, which shared its basic body shell and sheetmetal with the Chevrolet Nova.
1974 Pontiac Ventura Custom GTO
The US$461 GTO package (Code WW3) included a three-speed manual transmission with Hurst floor shifter, heavy-duty suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars, a shaker hood, special grille, wing mirrors, and wheels, and various GTO emblems. The only engine was the 350 cu in (5.7 L) V8 with a 7.6:1 compression ratio and a Rochester 4MC Quadrajet carburetor. The engine was rated at 200 hp (150 kW) at 4,400 rpm and 295 lb⋅ft (400 N⋅m) of torque at 2,800 rpm. Optional transmissions included a wide-ratio four-speed with Hurst shifter for US$207 (Code M20) or the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic. Power Steering was a US$104 option (Code N41) as well as Power front disc brakes for US$71 (Code JL2).
The GTO option was available in both the base Ventura and Ventura Custom lines as either a two-door coupé or a hatchback coupé. The base Ventura interior consisted of bench seats and rubber floor mats, Bucket seats could be added for US$132 (Code A51), while the Ventura Custom had upgraded bench seats or optional Strato bucket seats along with carpeting, cushioned steering wheel, and custom pedal trim.
Bias-belted tires were standard equipment, but a radial tuned suspension option added radial tires along with upgraded suspension tuning for improved ride and handling.
1974 Pontiac Ventura Custom GTO rear view
The revamped model quickly became a sore spot for loyalists, a situation not helped when Motor Trend tested the "Hot Sports Compacts" in their February 1974 issue—the staff could only muster a 0–60 mph acceleration time of 9.5 seconds and a quarter-mile trap time of 16.5 seconds (at a leisurely 84.03 mph). Cars Magazine tested a 1974 GTO with the optional four-speed manual transmission and obtained a 0–60 mph acceleration time of 7.7 seconds and a quarter mile time of 15.72 seconds at 88 mph (142 km/h). Jerry Heasley of High Performance Pontiac magazine called the car "a joke of a Ventura compact...uglier and stupid looking," in their August 1983 Special GTO issue.
Sales were an improvement over 1973, at 7,058, but not enough to justify continuing production of the model. Some other factors leading to the discontinuation of the GTO were the declining interest in performance cars and new emissions laws mandating the use of a catalytic converter in automobiles.
