Class of '72 · Pontiac GTO · 1972 body · second generation
1972Pontiac GTO
No longer a model of its own but a $353.88 option on the LeMans: net ratings only, no convertible, and 5,807 hardtops and pillared coupes.
The year in brief
The GTO went back to being an option package (W62), now on the LeMans and LeMans Sport. On the base LeMans it came as a pillared coupe or a hardtop.245
Power was now rated in SAE net terms: 250 hp for the standard 400 and the 455, 300 hp for the 455 HO.2one source
There was no GTO convertible, though a LeMans Sport convertible could have the GTO's engines and even its Endura nose.24one source
The story of the year
From model to option
Over-Drive counts 5,807 cars with the GTO option: 5,673 hardtops and 134 pillared coupes. Wikipedia gives 5,811, which also counts one convertible and three station wagons; some sources, it says, leave those four out.12
Pontiac planned the Firebird's ducktail spoiler as a GTO option, but cancelled it after a few cars were built, by Wikipedia's account (Over-Drive repeats it).24one source
How to spot a 1972
What tells it apart from a 1971.
Production12
5,807 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | LeMans or LeMans Sport with the GTO option | 5,673 |
| All hardtops | 5,673 | |
| Pillared coupe | LeMans with the GTO option | 134 |
| All pillared coupes | 134 | |
| Total | 5,807 | |
Over-Drive's split of the 5,807 cars with the GTO option. Wikipedia gives 5,811, which also counts one convertible and three station wagons; some sources, it says, leave those four out.
Engines2346
3 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.
Net ratings only; Pontiac had given net figures alongside gross in 1971, by Wikipedia's account. The 455 HO cost $349 with the GTO and included the ram-air hood (WU3), by Over-Drive's list. Wikipedia gives 646 cars with it, without a source.
Price when new124
Base retail prices in 1972 dollars, before options.
The LeMans prices are Over-Drive's table; the GTO option is $353.88 by Wikipedia (Over-Drive repeats it as $354). A GTO cost the LeMans plus the option.
Colors4one source
14 factory colors. The color names come from one source4one source; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Cameo White11
Revere Silver14
Adriatic Blue24
Lucerne Blue26
Springfield Green43
Wilderness Green48
Brittany Beige50
Quezal Gold53
Shadow Gold55
Monarch Yellow56
Brasilia Gold57
Anaconda Gold63
Sundance Orange65
Cardinal Red75
Over-Drive's list of 14 colors for the 1972 GTO (its separate list for the other mid-size Pontiacs is longer). No source we have gives the number of cars per color, so the counts are left empty.
Reading the VIN2356
A 1972 VIN has 13 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
2D37T2P10000136 · An example built from the code tables on this page, not a real car's VIN: a LeMans hardtop with the 400 four-barrel, 1972, Pontiac, Michigan, unit 100001.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | Division: Pontiac |
| D | Series: LeMans (the LeMans Sport hardtop too) |
| 27 · 37 | Body: pillared coupe · hardtop |
| T · Y · X | Engine (the GTO's three; see the engine table) |
| 2 | Model year (1972) |
| A · B · G · L · P · W · Z · 1 · 2 | 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.3one source
Questions about the 1972
How many 1972 Pontiac GTOs were made?
Pontiac built 5,807 for the 1972 model year: 5,673 hardtops, 134 pillared coupes.12
How can you tell a 1972 GTO from a 1971?
Two signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: no convertible; a pillared coupe.1245
What engines did the 1972 Pontiac GTO have?
Three engines, from the 400 cu in V8 to the 455 HO V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.2346
How much did a 1972 Pontiac GTO cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: LeMans coupe, V8 $2,840; LeMans hardtop, V8 $2,969; GTO option (W62) $353.88.124
What colors did the 1972 Pontiac GTO come in?
Over-Drive Magazine lists 14 factory colors.4one source
Where is the VIN on a 1972 Pontiac GTO?
On a plate on top of the instrument panel, driver's side, visible through the windshield.3one source
Sources
- 1972 Pontiac production (one-page table) Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac GTO Wikipedia · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac GTO VIN Decoding Tin Indian Performance · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Pontiac Mid-Size Cars Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Pontiac AMA Specifications (Tempest, LeMans and GTO) Pontiac Motor Division, General Motors · 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 built1971Pontiac 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.