The FASTEST Pontiac EVER vs 1971 Plymouth Cuda | STOCK DRAG RACE 

the Pontiac G8 is one of my favorite somewhat-modern muscle cars, and I'm glad you finally got to talk about one on your channel. this is great

I'm gonna be that guy. 😄 In 1963, "Swiss Cheese" Pontiac Catalinas were doing 12.3s at 115. That's on 1963 tires. Nah, wasn't standard production. Yeah, made by Pontiac.

Best production video in awhile! Great, tight race between new and old. Thanks again for a great video

Sadly the Pontiac G8 was a bit of a mystery car in the US due to GM’s pathetic attempt to promoting it at the time. Here in Australia that G8 is similar to our Calais model. Apart from the normal Holden Commodore they were also part of HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) lineup which are factory hotrods. Pity you guys didn’t get any of them.

That pontiac was being short shifted. It may say pontiac but that's a chevy engine, let it breathe !

I have a Cammed G8 GT making 430 to the wheels, it’s still a fun car, even in stock form, my best run with CAI and cat backs was 13.8@102mph. Currently my best is 12.7@114mph, that was with spinning in first and second. Hats off to the driver of the GXP, most of them are garage queens, now, or occasionally going to the car shows, you rarely ever see them at the track.

A couple really nice cars. My being old school, it was nice to see the Cuda take it.

I had a 1970 Charger RT / SE It made 115 mph on the quarter mile . I built a 440 with 6 pack inner parts , hemi cam , but ran an AVS carb stock cast iron intake , Used a carb tune kit to lesson the primaries for out of hole lean starts , then all but drilled out the secondaries to dump fuel after launched . 323 gears and stock tires . Out raced everything except a friends 327 Chevy nomad . He was a genius engine builder .

One of the greatest video and Stock Drag Race I've ever seen here! Awesome car selection. Big congratulations to the fabulous 'Cuda💪💪💪

Great video, I don't know how I hadn't heard of that Pontiac before. As a mopar guy, I was glad to see the cuda win 😁

great race! that Cuda gets my vote as the most beautiful car to ever appear on C & Zs.

That was one sorted out Cuda. As a Mopar guy I was glad to see it do well. You rarely see those G8's on the street anymore. Glad to see them used for their intended purpose.

The Cuda's best,...it beat Modern Technology,...and, it's Classic good Looks, will, Never Die!.

Pontiac did a couple cool cars before they went belly up, the G8 was cool especially the SLP Firehawk version, the GTO with the 6.0 was fast and understated and the Solstice GXP was a forgotten sports car but for its time it was one of top in its class for bang for your buck sports cars.

The newer car definitely put up a fight against the classic. But the Cuda will ALWAYS be the cooler car.

Possibly my favorite episode to date. I had zero knowledge of this Pontiac which gives me appreciation of you for taking the time for a more complete description. Well done!

my coworker spent 4 years looking for this car. He finally got one, this was back in 2015. That thing was quick, real quick.

Pretty sure the manual upgrade from automatic was actually $1200, and of course on GXP only (not available on the V6 or GT). I wanted one new at the time but ended up with the GT at $28,500, and in the best color Stryker Blue, but unfortunately automatic only. Still have it!

My brother had a 1968 Firebird with Ram Air II 400 and 4 speed manual, no a/C and no power steering. We thought that was quick, but I guess no match for this G8 GXP.

No idea that about the GXP. Damn good numbers! Mopar guy glad to see the ‘Cuda put on a show. 😎

So great to hear some of the SPICY commentary. I've been missing it brother! GREAT video. Thanks!

I’m driving it’s baby brother, 2009 G6 GT, with a chipped 3.5, cat/resonator delete and cold air intake, probably around 260 hp, up from 220 stock. I love it, but a G8 is on my bucket list. 👍🇨🇦

Great race and congrat's to the owner's of both car's, but the 'Cuda will alway's be my favorite no matter what happens.

Yeah. Love the Cuda but got to say Pontiac really snuck out a couple of greats in it's final kick at the can.

The sound of the fart over the Aztec made me cough laughing 😂. My buddy had a G8. Loved that car

Holden VE Commodore 👍

First time seeing content from this channel and im already loving the style.

Glad that some of your ‘unique’ humour has returned. Cudos on the Cudas!

The SD TAs could put up quarters in the 12’s as well. They could beat a Cuda. All depends on the driver, weather conditions, proper tuning, ect. It’s not always so cut and dry. In any case, we only saw one run here. On another one, with driver adjustments, the GXP could very likely take a win as well.

Excellent. Two fine cars. I didn't know about the Pontiac before. I've always loved the 1971 440 Cuda. Thanks

Wow had no idea those G8s were that fast pretty cool even though 4 doors are two doors to many. Great video and love your comments 👏 thanks for the video

I remember those G8 GXP’s literally selling for nothing on the lots brand new because of the time when they came out. I remember a bright blue one with a sunroof sitting there for 28,500

The quickest Pontiac that I've seen 70 trans am 455 ho , all factory cast iron exhaust, low tens 127 mph, I'm willing to bet it's got this new one beat

Thank you. This post was really cool. I have this exact car G8 GXP with manual. Totally stock! Rare as can be. Mine is a Canadian origin dealer car - which was not even supposed to happen. Cuda obviously not completely "stock" - much faster than it should be, but hey it is a whole lotta fun!

One sales problem, IMO, was that it looked like a Grand Am (or at least was very dissimilar to the other models). Would like to have one.

Great in depth look at the G8. Thanks for the video, C&Z

That has been a dream car of mine ever since I saw the performance videos when it came out.. I just google'd 2009 GXP 25 to $40000 used depending on the mileage . Base G8s are 4 to 5k . Still an option for someday

Ahh gotta love CCR in the background at a drag strip.

Dude, you're one of the funniest guys on the internet

One at my local drag strip spraying NO runs in the low 10’s. Standing at the big end, that thing winding up to 6000 rpm sounded sweet as hell.

Pontiac did stuff like this a lot. The only problem was pricing... I remember you could get a Grand Prix GT-GTP comp spec V. It was front wheel drive but had the same LS the 'vette was running that year, or you could buy a BMW 3 series. Insurance was close as well,

so the Cuda was tested back then and ran 13.72, now it runs 12.77. would have been interesting to discuss why that is. Cudas are my favorite car from the first muscle car era and GTOs from the second (2000+) era. G8 GXPs are interesting for another reason: they have been collectible from day one, despite their initial high price, they never depreciated.

A modern Pontiac vs a classic Mopar? Ooh, this is gonna be fun. 2 brands i love.

The Holden Commodore with the 6.0L engine from the Escalade was available in the US until at least 2012. The one I got a wild test ride in was badged as a Chevy Caprice and sold only to fleet buyers. Most became cop cars. I have pictures of a 2012 Caprice dressed in cop car trim and outfitted with all of Motorolas latest police technology. It was used by Motorola to demonstrate all the latest stuff. We drove it through a mall parking lot in Florida where the license plate recognition system captured plate numbers and called each one in to NCIC for wants and warrants. Yes, we did a couple of massive smoky burnouts too.

It's great to see that you're interjecting your corny jokes once again! That was one of the main reasons that I subscribed to your channel, I really hated it when you stopped for all that time. It's great to have you back with your witty self. 😁👌

I personally have one of the last Pontiac Grand Prix GXP. 2008. Planning an upgrade to trans and trash the most restrictive LS intake ever made. And planning DOD delete as well

That "Cuda is pretty, but I'm drooling over the GTX behind it.

I saw a blue g8 on the road yesterday! Probably the only time I’ve ever seen one.. they were stopped in front of me at a light…. So I guess you could say I’m a pretty cool guy 😌

Never heard of this car. Assumed it was gonna be the GTO and you surprised me.

I have had and still have several OG muscle cars. But the quickest car I ever had off the line was (don't laugh) a 2002 Grand Am Ram air GT. Of course, it fell on its face after 4000 rpm....and 2nd 3rd and 4th gear were anemic as well. But that initial launch off the line was insane.

Omg the Aztec fart was friggin priceless!!!!!!

I loved it then still love it now and was nice to hear I was correct with that 1st comment reply . Awesome video 👍🏻

ROFLMAO @ 5:19 😂🤣😂 SOMEBODY must've had too much milk from the bottle😉

Dude was short shifting, that Pontiac is quicker than that.

Awesome cars, I think everyone should pick one up before they get totaled on street takeovers

Here in UK it's badged a Vauxhall vxr8, claiming 430 bhp and O-60 4.9 sec's, with the na 6.2 ls3. If i could afford one i would supercharge it to 550 bhp, i love that small block ls3 v8, so tuneable.

Nice piece of work. I'd like to see that 440 'Cuda run with modern tires.

The Cuda wins again 🔥

I had a chance to buy one of these, a red GXP manual. What a missed opportunity.

RIP Pontiac 1926 to 2010. It's really sad because Pontiac was my favorite American automotive division from GM. I've always liked the Firebird more than the Chevy Camaro. Seriously WTF is a Camaro anyways? Like where did that name come from. Firebird was a cooler name because of its associations with Native American mythology. Also we wouldn't have American performance cars if it wasn't for the 1964 GTO. It definitely is the true first muscle car. Jim Wangers and John Z Delorean were geniuses who created the Automotive industry we all love today. I wish GM had more people who actually loved cars like they did instead of the pencil pusher fat cats who ran GM into the ground.

The automatic transmission saved the day for that 'cuda and I'm glad it did

I don't see how the Pontiac could weigh that much.

Awesome , Thanks C&Z 😀

To bad you couldn't find a Ram Air IV GTO with 4.33's to give it a go !!! GTO definitely win's in the "My Dream Car" category !!!

6:50 Like how the car is doing 120 mph while the guy is at the side, videoing the car. 😄😄

The question is, was the G8 Pontiac's last-ditch effort to breath some life back into the brand or the equivalent of a witty one liner before getting shot in the face? It's such a shame that the mention of Pontiac brings to mind the Aztek (which I personally didn't hate). Just look at what they did for GM. The C3 Corvette started life as the Pontiac Banshee concept car. They launched the muscle car craze with the GTO. GM's first mid-engine (that had to be wimpified with an Iron Duke and rebranded as an economy car for the same reason the G8 was detuned). They launched the muscle car craze again by bringing back the GTO (say what you want about the styling, it was still an LS in a RWD coupe and your only other option for that at the time was the Corvette.) After the GTO was launched dodge brought back the Charger and the Mustang was made into a fast back again with the Camaro and Challenger coming back a few more years down the road. And when the GTO wasn't retro styled enough for the boomers, they made a roadster that looked like a C1 Corvette just to find out boomers were too fat to fit in roadsters.

C&Z was on 🔥with this one….I’m cracking up over here….That double Aztec fart bit- gold, C&Z. Gold! 🤣

Note the red Holden at 0:43 has a 427. But we’re stupidly expensive in Australia.

Dude you are hilarious. You always make my day

You go Zebra! Give that GXP a big load!

I have a built block 6.0 with ls3 ported heads making 625 can't wait to boost it

Mate, you gotta come clean and tell us how you came across that absolute classic Aussie "bogan" video? Every Australian knows it well but to see an American use it in the way it was intended hats off to ya mate, brilliant stuff. But seriously what's your secret huh? Got an Aussie contact right? No way you could have known about it otherwise surely?

the g8 gxp is a fun car but if you say blew up your L76 6.0 do to d.o.d cam . and then install a ls3 with a lsa pushing north of 700+hp completely built 60k$ cheaper than a hellcat with aftermarket add-ons

What's with you millemials and the 4 doors?Gawd!

Great video love seeing old vs new dam good race.

Gotta love the tin indian theyre sleepers

I like how the cuda played with the boy in the pontiac. Let's face it Mopar always smoked GM anything!

Goodday C & Z, Great video final you show an Aussie build car. Here in Australia they are known as Holden Commodore otherwise Common Doors because like Mustangs they are like ar__holes they are everywhere here. The sad fact is production ceased back in 2018 I think not that I care & everyone rushed out to buy the last of the V8's put them in storage hopefully make a quid in a few years time. Unfortunately the HSV variety ( Holden Special Vehicle's ) are now pulling top dollar at auctions & are highly desirable amongst the Holden fraternity. Even my parents drive a 1997 VS Series II Berlina Commodore & people bail them up to offer ridiculous money for it even though it is a basic Buick 3.8 litre V6 donk. The most desired are the 1988 Commodore VL Turbo. Only model fitted with a Nissan 6 cylinder turbo engine. Especially the ex police highway patrol in Canary Yellow from my state of Victoria where I am from. I was 18 years old & just got my license when these VL were around. 5 speed manual they are so desired today almost fetching 6 figures at auction. Good to see the Cuda hold its own. I wished Plymouth fitted the Rallye dash as standard on a Cuda like Dodge fitted the Rallye Dadh standard on anything R/T. That Dash lets the Cuda down big time. Watching your short Tic Tok video's but not commenting way too busy these days summer is on the way here in Melbourne. Your number 1 Fan in Australia Louis Kats from Melbourne Australia ☺ 👍 ❤

The minor differences in rated HP is mostly attributed to parasitic losses from various accessories, and the Corvette is almost always gonna have a less restrictive exhaust system. Then there's the emissions.

You do video of an 06 GTO (aka a rebadged Holden Monaro from Australia) with the 400 HP 6.0L LS2 V8 vs the 09 G8 GXP (aka the rebadged Holden Commodore from Australia) with the 415 HP 6.2L LS3 V8 as well.

These cars were made in Australia since 1979. The VB commodore SS

Now if we could just kill the myth that the GTO was the first muscle car. The 61/62 Max Wedge Savoys were far lighter and way faster than any GTO ever was.

Just wish I would've snatched up one on those GXPs. I was too young then, but wish they would've produced the Oldsmobile G88, but GM, once again wouldn't produce it because it was faster than the Corvette.

A good old Aussie Commodore

And he's BACK !🤣

I would to see a first Gen srt8 300/charger/magnum against the classic mopars, that would be fun

Whether it was a Cuda depended on if plymouth actually stamped it as such and its power plant being a higher output engine such as a hemi.

I wonder if the 1970 GTO judge option with the 455 is any faster

Downunder where theyre from ,I watched a standard V8 sedan one of these lap a genuine 68 trans am mustang race car at a display day

As a daily driver type of car, I very much miss Pontiac products.

Can you do Christmas special featuring Hess Hot Rods?

In Australia these, but badged Holden were everywhere, until GM pulled out, the government heavily subsidised the Australian car industry and a new government came in and stopped this, I guess the crazy thing is the New Government then devalued the AU dollar and it became possible to make cars here again but by that time the Car companies GM, For and Toyota had already shut down. So cars like the Ponty are no longer which is a real shame.

A little late for Pontiac. The 1969 Dodge Dart LO23 was doing 13's.. All you had to do was add racing slicks.

That Cuda is sweet. Lotta $$$

I will never consider a Holden with a Chevy engine to be a Pontiac, the last true one was the 2002 Trans Am but on the other hand MOPAR OR NO CAR ✌💖☮

think everyone knew who was gonna win this one

I'm still mourning the loss of Pontiac. Growing up I always liked Pontiac's version of whatever GM model it was. The plastic ridiculousness of the last Trans Am was glorious. I know that automotive journalists bemoaned the extra cladding on things like Grand Ams, Grand Prixs, and the Bonneville, but when they tried to smooth everything out with the G3s, G5s, and G6es they just looked kinda dull in comparison. Luckily you can still get a G8 with silly looking stuff glued all over it. I mean name one Chevy version that's better than the Pontiac version. The late 70s Trans Ams may have had low compression choked out engines but they had the regal screaming chicken which made up for alot. Look at a stock Camaro of the same era and they're just boring.

Beautiful car.

So-called "stock" 'Cuda was obviously breathed-on a little bit.

Two very nice cars. I like the ‘Cuda more.😬👍👍🇨🇦