Vent windows
Crank-operated vent windows in the front doors. 1968 was their last year on the GTO hardtop and convertible, by Wikipedia's account; the 1972 pillared coupe had vent windows, by Over-Drive's.37one source
Class of '68 · Pontiac GTO · 1968 body · second generation
1968Pontiac GTO
The new body: a shorter 112-inch wheelbase, a body-color Endura nose, hidden headlamps as an option, and 87,684 built.
The year in brief
General Motors redesigned its intermediates for 1968. The two-door GTO lost three inches of wheelbase, down to 112, and the vertically stacked headlamps gave way to a horizontal pair, with hidden headlamps at extra cost.36
The nose was a body-color Endura bumper that could take a low-speed knock without damage. A GTO could still be ordered with a chrome bumper and grille from the LeMans, Wikipedia notes, as «Endura delete».36
The standard 400 now made 350 hp. A two-barrel regular-fuel 400 was a no-cost option that fewer than 3,300 buyers took, and the Ram Air II arrived in mid-year.346
Production rose to 87,684: 77,704 hardtops and 9,980 convertibles.16one source
The story of the year
Car of the Year, and a hammer
Motor Trend named the 1968 GTO its Car of the Year, by Wikipedia's account.3one source
Pontiac sold the Endura nose on television: testers in white coats hit it with a hammer, and it shrugged the blows off.36
How to spot a 1968
What tells it apart from a 1969.
Ignition key on the dash
The key goes in the instrument panel. From 1969 it is on the steering column.3one source
Arrowhead side markers at the rear
The rear side-marker lamps are red and shaped like Pontiac's arrowhead emblem; the 1969 lamps take the shape of the GTO badge.3one source
Taillamps inside the bumper
The taillamps sit in the rear bumper. Over-Drive's 1969 GTO description says the 1969 lamps were «no longer completely surrounded by the bumper».8one source
Production136
87,684 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | GTO | 77,704 |
| All hardtops | 77,704 | |
| Convertible | GTO | 9,980 |
| All convertibles | 9,980 | |
| Total | 87,684 | |
Consumer Guide's rows, which Over-Drive's table repeats; Wikipedia gives the same total.
Engines2346
5 engines. 1971: Pontiac's RPO code, from Over-Drive. 1972: the engine letter in the VIN. Before 1972 the VIN carries no engine code, and a dash means none of our sources gives an RPO code.
Advertised (gross-era) ratings. Over-Drive's engine list and Consumer Guide's 1968 profile rate the mid-year Ram Air II at 366 hp; Consumer Guide's model article gives 366 hp to a «special tunnel-port engine» instead, and Wikipedia says the «'official' power rating was not changed» from the Ram Air's 360. Fewer than 3,300 GTOs had the two-barrel engine, by Consumer Guide's count.
Price when new12one source
Base retail prices in 1968 dollars, before options.
Consumer Guide's profile; Over-Drive's table repeats Consumer Guide's hardtop row. Over-Drive prints $2,996 for the convertible, less than the hardtop: its whole convertible row ($2,996, 3,346 lb) is the Firebird convertible's from the same table, so we leave the convertible out.
Colors4one source
17 factory colors. The color names come from one source4one source; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Starlight BlackA
Cameo IvoryC
Alpine BlueD
Aegena BlueE
Nordic BlueF
April GoldG
Autumn BronzeI
Meridian TurquoiseK
Aleutian BlueL
Flambeau BurgundyN
Coronado GoldO
Springmist GreenP
Verdoro GreenQ
Solar RedR
Primavera BeigeT
Nightshade GreenV
Mayfair MaizeY
Over-Drive's list of 17 colors for Pontiac's mid-size cars, the GTO included, with Pontiac's letter codes. No source we have gives the number of cars per color, so the counts are left empty.
Reading the VIN35910
A 1968 VIN has 13 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
242378P100001910 · An example built from the code tables on this page, not a real car's VIN: a GTO hardtop, 1968, Pontiac, Michigan, unit 100001.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | Division: Pontiac |
| 42 | Series: GTO (the Judge too) |
| 37 · 67 | Body: 2-door hardtop · convertible |
| 8 | Model year (1968) |
| A · B · G · K · P · R · Z · 1 | Assembly plant (the GTO's, by Rubber The Right Way) |
| 100001 → | Sequential unit number |
Where to find it: On a plate on top of the instrument panel, driver's side, visible through the windshield.9one source
Questions about the 1968
How many 1968 Pontiac GTOs were made?
Pontiac built 87,684 for the 1968 model year: 77,704 hardtops, 9,980 convertibles.136
How can you tell a 1968 GTO from a 1969?
Four signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: vent windows; ignition key on the dash; arrowhead side markers at the rear; taillamps inside the bumper.378one source
What engines did the 1968 Pontiac GTO have?
Five engines, from the 400 cu in V8 to the 400 Ram Air II V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.2346
How much did a 1968 Pontiac GTO cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: GTO hardtop $3,101.12one source
What colors did the 1968 Pontiac GTO come in?
Over-Drive Magazine lists 17 factory colors.4one source
Where is the VIN on a 1968 Pontiac GTO?
On a plate on top of the instrument panel, driver's side, visible through the windshield.9one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1968, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Open
The 1968 Ram Air II's rating
Our ruling: Unresolved. Over-Drive's engine list and Consumer Guide's 1968 profile give the mid-year Ram Air II 366 hp. Consumer Guide's model article instead puts Ram Air II induction on the 360-hp HO and gives 366 hp to a «special tunnel-port engine», and Wikipedia says the rating stayed at 360. Pontiac's own 1968 AMA sheet, issued in August 1967, lists the Ram Air at 360 hp and no Ram Air II, which came in mid-year.
What each source says (3)
- 366 hp for the mid-year Ram Air II24
- Ram Air II induction on the 360-hp HO, and 366 hp for a «special tunnel-port engine»6one source
- the «'official' power rating was not changed» from the Ram Air's 360 hp3one source
Sources
- 1968 Pontiac production (one-page table) Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1968 Pontiac GTO HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac GTO Wikipedia · read 2026-10-11
- 1968 Pontiac Mid-Size Cars Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1968 Pontiac AMA Specifications (Tempest, LeMans and GTO) Pontiac Motor Division, General Motors · read 2026-10-11
- 1968-1969 Pontiac GTO & Judge HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Pontiac Mid-Size Cars Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1969 Pontiac Mid-Size Cars Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac GTO VIN Decoding Tin Indian Performance · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac VIN Decoder 1965-2002 Rubber The Right Way · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1969Pontiac GTONo vent windows, the key on the column, and from December the Judge: 72,287 GTOs, 6,833 of them Judges.72,287 built
1970Pontiac GTOA new face with four exposed headlamps in the Endura nose, a 455 option, and 40,149 built, 3,797 of them Judges.40,149 built
1971Pontiac GTOLower compression, no Ram Air 400s, a new 455 HO, the last Judge, and 10,532 built.10,532 builtSee the whole second generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1968–1972.