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Having kids should be one of life’s great joys. For car guys it means having a new youngster to raise right, and share their love of all things automotive with. However, sometimes having a new mini-gear head to tote around can lead to some necessary changes in your transportation. That’s the exact situation that Justin Young, from Las Vegas, Nevada, and his wife found themselves in.
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“I had a 2002 Z06 and realized that having a young daughter and wife, we wouldn’t have a lot of time to drive it since there isn’t room for a baby seat.” Young tells us. “My wife and I couldn’t really enjoy the Corvette unless we had a babysitter.” So, Young and his wife did what any responsible new parents would do; they put the Vette up for sale, and started the search for more family friendly ride that they could still have fun with. That’s when Young found this Pontiac G8 GT; the perfect combination of 4-door practicality and LS V8 power all in the same car.
But this G8 isn’t some meek grocery-getter. Under the hood lurks a ProCharger [3] P1-SC that bumps the Pontiac’s power output up to 576 horsepower and 618 pound feet of torque at the rear wheels on E85. The most impressive thing about those numbers? It still has the stock Displacement on Demand (DOD) cam and lifters installed. So when you consider that the L76’s power output has nearly been doubled without even changing the cam, those numbers are nothing short of phenomenal. Oh yeah, it even has the stock cat-back still in place too (…with cut-outs installed, but still…).
The G8 also features a full Pedders [4] XA coilover suspension, and a set of 2nd Gen CTS-V 6-Piston Brembo brakes. The rolling stock is a set of 3-piece Forgeline ZX3 [5] wheels measuring 19×9.5 all around, wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE11 tires. As a testament to the G8’s handling ability, Young tells us that the car pulled a full 1.1 lateral G’s on the skid pad. Not bad for a 4-door that can haul five full-grown adults and plenty of luggage in the trunk, don’t you think?
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“I use it as my daily driver.” says Young. “I have a baby seat in the back and toys thrown all over the place. It gets around 15 MPG with E85 and over 20 MPG with 91 octane in it, and it has amazing street manners. I would even let my grandmother drive it if she needed to.”
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The G8 wasn't always the awesome ride you see before you, but took a lot of work and perseverance to get it where it is. Young says, 'I want to thank my friends in The GMH (General Motors Holden) Import Crew, Sam Smith at Sullivan GM Performance, Barry Waugh at Findlay Body Shop and Mike Angel at Insane Speed for all of the help with getting this car where it is today. And, of course, my lovely wife.'