1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT, Gran Turismo
1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT

Ford is doing it wrong. The current Ford Mustang GT is the highest-performance regular-production version of the brand’s beloved pony car (outside of the track-ready Shelbys), but that’s not really what a GT is. Historically speaking, at least.

Traditionally, GT meant grand touring, or gran turismo in Italian. Originally, the GT moniker was applied to more comfortable and streetable versions of cars that were otherwise racetrack ready. Car builders including Ferrari and Lancia were among the first to use the GT tag.

Though still sporty, early GTs were expected to be driven great distances on public roads without the driver fatigue that might have been expected in coarser, track-oriented cars.

Over the years the gran turismo concept has been watered down, and the GT suffix has been applied liberally to what is generally the sportiest car in any given model lineup.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IThQECc1hOY]

In the above ad, we see a car which is not only dubbed GT, but also “special edition,” which is typically denoted as SE. We might argue that the 1989 Grand Am is neither special nor especially sporty, but we digress.

Collected here are ten classic ads, each of which celebrates a GT model. In each case, the GT depicted does represent the sportiest offering in that specific model line.

More classic car ads

 

1978 AMC Gremlin GT

1978 AMC Gremlin GT
1978 AMC Gremlin GT Ad

 

1974 Chevrolet Vega GT

1974 Chevrolet Vega GT Ad
1974 Chevrolet Vega GT Ad

 

1967 Dodge Dart GT

1967 Dodge Dart GT Ad
1967 Dodge Dart GT Ad

 

1973 Dodge Colt GT

1973 Dodge Colt GT Ad
1973 Dodge Colt GT Ad

 

1989 Ford Escort GT

1989 Ford Escort GT Ad
1989 Ford Escort GT Ad

First Spin: 2017 Dodge Challenger GT

 

1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT

1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT Ad
1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT Ad

 

1971 Mercury Comet GT

1971 Mercury Comet GT Ad
1971 Mercury Comet GT Ad

 

1976 Oldsmobile Starfire GT

1976 Oldsmobile Starfire GT Ad
1976 Oldsmobile Starfire GT Ad

 

1992 Pontiac Grand Am GT

1992 Pontiac Grand Am GT
1992 Pontiac Grand Am GT Ad

 

1974 Toyota Celica GT

1974 Toyota Celica GT Ad
1974 Toyota Celica GT Ad

The 3 Strangest-Looking Vehicles of 1986

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