Independent · Source-led · American performance history Issue 01 · 1951–2023
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1971 · Pontiac · United States

1971 Pontiac GTO: dual ratings and the Judge's last year

Lower compression, dual gross and net ratings, the 455 HO as the top engine, and production down to 10,532.

United States · researched through 2026-09-22

Red 1971 GTO hardtop with its mesh-grille Endura nose and hood scoops, front three-quarter on grass
1971 Pontiac GTO 2-door hardtop in red Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1971 was the first year Pontiac's own AMA specifications listed both gross and net ratings side by side for the GTO: the standard 400 at 300 hp gross and 255 hp net, and the 455 HO at 335 hp gross and 310 hp net with 480 and 410 lb-ft of torque. A compiled production table gives 9,497 hardtops, 661 convertibles, 357 Judge hardtops and 17 Judge convertibles, 10,532 GTOs in all, and this record's own overview states plainly that the Judge package was dropped after this year.1,2

This record's own key facts confirm the 10,532 total with its 374-Judge breakdown, 357 hardtops and 17 convertibles, and separately confirm that the 455 HO, standard equipment on the Judge, carried the same 335-hp gross and 310-hp net ratings already given above. This record's own conflicts section flags a third-party rating for the same 455 HO, a secondary fact sheet's 360 hp at 4,600 rpm and 500 lb-ft, and states its own treatment directly: the AMA specification leads because it is the more authoritative factory document, while the fact sheet's figure is treated as a carry-over error matching that same source's own 1970 455 rating.3,4

Four production rows, the plain hardtop and convertible plus the Judge hardtop and convertible, are treated in this record's own notes as partitioning the 10,532 total. A separate OldRide.com-sourced row gives 7,945 automatic-equipped GTOs and Judges, with the same source's own note additionally giving 2,287 manual cars; this record's own conflicts section states that the two figures sum to only 10,232, three hundred short of the 10,532 total, and for that reason keeps the manual count in conflicts rather than presenting it as a production row alongside the automatic figure.5

Factory prices are recorded at $3,446 for the hardtop, $3,676 for the convertible, $3,840 for the Judge hardtop and $4,070 for the Judge convertible. This record's own conflicts section separately flags a lower $3,604 figure for the Judge hardtop specifically, sourced to OldRide.com, and its own treatment notes that $3,604 is the same source's 1970 Judge hardtop price, so the lower 1971 figure may itself be a carried-over transcription rather than a genuinely distinct 1971 price.2,5

Three engines are documented: the standard 400 four-barrel already described above, a 455 four-barrel coded L75 rated 325 hp gross and 455 lb-ft, available on the GTO with the automatic transmission only per a secondary fact sheet, and the 455 HO coded LS5, optional on the GTO and standard on the Judge with Ram Air available. This record's own transmissions section is empty for 1971 despite the automatic and manual production-count rows described above; no dedicated transmission entries were found to restate that split in the transmissions array itself. The Judge package itself is recorded at a retail price of $337 with 374 installations, alongside options including an $84 GTO air-inlet hood, an $84 Rally gauge cluster with tachometer, a $46 Safe-T-Track differential and $408 air conditioning.4,1

Fourteen exterior paint codes and nine GTO-specific interior trim codes, all in bucket-seat vinyl, are documented for the year, alongside a 112-inch wheelbase and shipping weights of 3,619 lb for the hardtop and 3,664 lb for the convertible. A separate unpublished lead repeats an uncited Wikipedia statement that the 357-car Judge figure already given above may itself include the 17 convertibles rather than sit alongside them as a distinct hardtop-only count, a claim this record does not adopt since it conflicts with both the PHS-attributed and compiled-table figures used throughout this record.4,6

Engine bay of a 1971 GTO with a round black air cleaner lettered 455 H.O.
1971 Pontiac GTO engine bay with the 455 H.O. air cleaner Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Green 1971 GTO hardtop in a garage beside a motorcycle, under the title The GTO
1971 Pontiac GTO hardtop in green (1971 Pontiac performance-car brochure)
Cream 1971 GTO Judge in a garage above a GTO convertible with a white bucket-seat interior, under the title The Judge
1971 Pontiac GTO Judge hardtop and GTO convertible interior (1971 Pontiac performance-car brochure)

Fact sheet · 1971 · United States

The numbers

1971 Pontiac GTO — Lower compression, dual gross and net ratings, the 455 HO as the top engine, and production down to 10,532.

Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-22.

Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.

Key facts

  • Reported 1971 GTO production was 10,532, including 374 Judges (357 hardtops and 17 convertibles).2,3
  • The 455 HO was standard on the Judge, rated 335 hp gross and 310 hp net.1,3

Production

Totals
What was countedCountBasisStatus
GTO total, all bodies, Judge included2,7 GTO incl. Judge · not stated by source Same Standard Catalog lineage. 10,532 built, model-year Reported
By body style and series
What was countedCountBasisStatus
GTO hardtop (excluding Judge)2 GTO · 2-door hardtop · not stated by source 9,497 built, model-year Reported
GTO convertible (excluding Judge)2 GTO · convertible · not stated by source 661 built, model-year Reported
By package or option
What was countedCountBasisStatus
GTO Judge hardtop2,3 GTO Judge · 2-door hardtop · 455 HO · not stated by source Classic Industries attributes Judge figures to PHS documentation. 357 built, model-year Reported
GTO Judge convertible2,3 GTO Judge · convertible · 455 HO · not stated by source 17 built, model-year Reported
GTO Judge, all bodies3 GTO Judge · not stated by source Stated total in the source, not summed here. 374 built, model-year Reported
By transmission
What was countedCountBasisStatus
GTO and Judge, automatic transmission5 GTO including Judge · automatic · not stated by source The same note gives 2,287 manual cars, which with this figure sums to 10,232, not the 10,532 total; the manual figure is held in conflicts rather than shown as a row. 7,945 built, model-year Reported

The compiled table presents the four GTO rows as partitioning 10,532.

Prices when new

ModelPriceBasis
GTO hardtop2 $3,446 factory price as compiled, 1971 model year
GTO convertible2 $3,676 factory price as compiled, 1971 model year
GTO Judge hardtop2 $3,840 factory price as compiled, 1971 model year
GTO Judge convertible2 $4,070 factory price as compiled, 1971 model year

Prices are the nominal dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.

Engines

EngineFactory ratingAvailabilityBuilt
400 4-bbl (standard GTO)1 400 cu in · one four-barrel 300 hp, 400 lb-ft (SAE gross); 255 hp, 340 lb-ft (SAE net) standard Not yet sourced
LS5 · 455 HO1,4 455 cu in · one four-barrel, Ram Air available 335 hp, 480 lb-ft (SAE gross); 310 hp, 410 lb-ft (SAE net) optional GTO; standard Judge Not yet sourced
L75 · 455 4-bbl4,7 455 cu in · one four-barrel 325 hp @ 4,400, 455 lb-ft @ 3,200 (SAE gross) optional GTO, automatic only per secondary fact sheet Not yet sourced

Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.

Options and packages

CodeOptionPriceInstalled
package GTO Judge package4 $337 3743 Reported
option GTO air inlet hood4 $84 Not yet sourced
option Rally gauge cluster with tachometer4 $84 Not yet sourced
option Safe-T-Track differential4 $46 Not yet sourced
option Air conditioning4 $408 Not yet sourced

Paint

CodeColorBuilt
11 Cameo White4 Not yet sourced
13 Nordic Silver4 Not yet sourced
19 Starlight Black4 Not yet sourced
24 Adriatic Blue4 Not yet sourced
26 Lucerne Blue4 Not yet sourced
42 Limekist Green4 Not yet sourced
43 Tropical Lime4 Not yet sourced
49 Laurentian Green4 Not yet sourced
53 Quezal Gold4 Not yet sourced
59 Aztec Gold4 Not yet sourced
61 Sandalwood4 Not yet sourced
62 Canyon Copper4 Not yet sourced
67 Castilian Bronze4 Not yet sourced
75 Cardinal Red4 Not yet sourced

Color names are the factory's. We don't show color swatches, because a screen color is no guide for a restoration.

Interiors

CodeTrimBuilt
261 Dark Blue (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
262 Ivory (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
263 Dark Saddle (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
264 Dark Sienna (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
266 Dark Jade (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
267 Sandalwood (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
277 Sandalwood (notchback or 60/40 seat, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
269 Black (bucket seats, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced
279 Black (notchback or 60/40 seat, vinyl, per the page's key) [GTO trim list]6 Not yet sourced

Specifications

MeasureValueApplies to
Wheelbase2 112 in all GTO bodies
Shipping weight, hardtop2 3,619 lb GTO hardtop as compiled
Shipping weight, convertible2 3,664 lb GTO convertible as compiled

Identification

Body (cowl) plate
Body (cowl) plate riveted to the top left cowl under the hood. It carries the build date (month 01-12 and week A-E), the style number (year, series and body style), the body number (assembly-plant prefix and production sequence), the trim code, the lower and upper paint codes, and factory accessory codes. The page's example plate reads: Build Date 02C; Style 71-23737; Body Z 05XXX; Trim 264; Paint 67 A.6
Body-plate assembly-plant codes
A = Atlanta, GA; P = Pontiac, MI; B = Baltimore, MD; LOA = Lordstown, OH; C = Southgate, CA; X = Kansas City, KS; E = Linden, NJ; Z = Fremont, CA; G = Framingham, MA; 1 = Oshawa, Ont. CAN; L = Van Nuys, CA.6

Decode a VIN →

Where the sources disagree

1971 455 HO rating in the secondary fact sheet

  • 335 hp gross / 310 hp net1
  • 360 hp @ 4,600 rpm, 500 lb-ft4

The AMA specification leads; the fact sheet's figure matches the 1970 455 rating and is treated as a carry-over error.

1971 GTO manual-transmission count

  • 2,287 (page note; with 7,945 automatics it sums to 10,232)5
  • 10,532 total2

The manual figure does not close on the total by 300 cars; it is not shown as a production row.

1971 GTO Judge hardtop price

  • $3,8402
  • $3,6045

Both shown; $3,604 is the 1970 Judge hardtop price in this record, so the lower figure may be carried over.

Identification

Read a 1971 Pontiac VIN

The VIN decoder runs in your browser and never sends the VIN anywhere. How the factory numbered this year's cars:

Same model year

Also in 1971

  • AMC AMX The AMX name moves onto the redesigned Javelin as its top model. It is a derivative badge, not a continuation of the two-seater. 2,054 were built, all with the 360 or 401.
  • AMC Hornet SC/360 AMC's one-year compact muscle car pitched as an insurance-friendly alternative. AMC reportedly planned 10,000, but 784 were built.
  • AMC Javelin A new, flared-fender Javelin, with the AMX name as its top model. Javelin won AMC the 1971 Trans-Am manufacturers' championship.
  • AMC Matador Machine The Rebel Machine's unadvertised successor, a 'Machine Go' option package for the Matador hardtop. Production is unknown; published guesses run from 43 to 68.
  • Buick Riviera The boattail Riviera: 455 rated 315 gross / 255 net, GS 330 / 265; 3,175 of 33,810 were GS.
  • Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX Compression fell to 8.5:1, the GS 350 and GS 455 were merged into one GS series of 9,170 cars, and the GSX became an appearance package on any GS.
  • Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS A single RPO Z15 SS package now spanned small- and big-block V8s; 9,502 of 19,293 SS cars carried the LS5 454, and Chevrolet began printing net ratings beside gross.
  • Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova SS limited to the L48 350 per the source; Rally Nova (RPO YF1) offered. Enthusiast-compiled production: 194,878 cars; Super Sport 7,015.
  • Chevrolet El Camino SS A single RPO Z15 SS package on the Malibu/Custom El Camino; the El Camino share of 19,293 SS cars is not separately published.
  • Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS The last SS 454 year: RPO Z20 on 1,919 of 128,600 Monte Carlos.
  • Dodge Challenger Challenger's second year lost the SE, the R/T convertible, and the T/A; a new pillared coupe joined the hardtop and convertible, and production fell to roughly a third of 1970's.
  • Dodge Charger A new, shorter third-generation body absorbed the Coronet two-doors and the Super Bee; it was the last year for the R/T and for a factory Hemi Charger.
  • Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee The end of the line for Coronet performance: the two-door Coronets were replaced by the Charger, taking the Super Bee with them.
  • Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon Dodge's version of the Duster fastback arrived as the Demon, and the Demon 340 became the performance Dart: 10,098 built, plus 85 Canadian Swinger 340 Specials.
  • Ford Maverick Grabber The Grabber became its own model with a dual-scoop hood, and the 210 hp 302 V8 arrived; Classic Industries counts 38,963 Grabbers.
  • Ford Ranchero GT The second Torino-based Ranchero year; reference counts give 3,632 GTs, while Barn Finds rounds the GT figure to about 3,900 of 24,946 Rancheros.
  • Ford Thunderbird The last fifth-generation year kept the 360-hp 429 as standard; production fell to 36,055.
  • Ford Torino A carryover year for the 1970 body; the Torino Cobra now came standard with a 351 four-barrel and offered the 429 Cobra Jet-R, but only 3,054 Cobras were built.
  • Mercury Comet and Cyclone The final Cyclone year: production fell to a few thousand across Cyclone, Cyclone GT and Cyclone Spoiler.
  • Mercury Cougar A larger second-generation Cougar, new body codes, and the one-year 429 Cobra Jet option, fitted to 448 cars.
  • Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds Compression fell to 8.5:1 for regular fuel, the W-31 was dropped, the sports coupe was gone, and 4-4-2 production fell to 7,589.
  • Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda Four headlamps and a new grille marked the second E-body year; the Hemi and 440 Six Barrel stayed on the 'Cuda order form, but Barracuda-line production fell to about a third of 1970's.
  • Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 The Duster 340's second year brought a new grille, a Thermo-Quad 340 rated 275 gross and 235 net hp, and a $2,703 list price, while output fell to about 12,900.
  • Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite On the redesigned 1971 Satellite body the GTX fell to 2,942 cars, only 30 of them with the Hemi.
  • Plymouth Road Runner Redesigned on the new Satellite body as a hardtop only, the Road Runner fell to 14,218 cars, and a 340 joined the 383, 440, and Hemi.
  • Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am The 455 HO year: the Trans Am's biggest engine, 2,116 cars, and a Formula line split across three V-8s.
  • Pontiac Grand Prix Boat-tail styling, lower compression, and the manual transmission gone by March: 116 of 58,325 had one.
  • Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The Tempest name gives way to T-37; the GT-37 option carries on and the 455 HO is available in two-door LeMans models.