We have a recurring segment called Concepts We Forgot, in which we revisit cool concept cars from days gone by. This big, bold Pontiac G8 concept would be a perfect candidate if it wasn't for one tiny detail: Nobody outside of a select few designers knew it existed.
That changed on June 24, 2024—roughly 16 years after it was built. General Motors Design shared images on Instagram, where we learned this was the last concept Pontiac built before GM killed the brand in 2009. It was born in the company's Advanced Studio in California, and according to the Instagram post, it was a fully functional "vision of the future design" for Pontiac.
Of course, that future never came to pass. Facing declining sales, GM axed Oldsmobile in 2004, then later dumped Hummer, Saturn, and Pontiac amid its bankruptcy saga. Had Pontiac endured, it likely would've become a niche performance brand in GM's hierarchy, not unlike what Dodge became at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. And now, we have a hint of what niche-performance Pontiac may have looked like.
Unfortunately, there's little information available beyond this being a functional vehicle with G8 badging. It bears some resemblance to the production G8 sedan, a vehicle brought over from GM's Holden group in Australia where it was known as the Commodore. There were also plans to sell the two-door Commodore ute version as the G8 ST, effectively bringing back the El Camino. But that didn't come to pass, either.
We'll never know if this G8 concept was a near-production idea, but its overall design is certainly ... something. The headlights have a vertical orientation resembling Cadillacs of the era, and one might say the big grille was ahead of its time. As for what's under the hood, a continuation of the LS V-8 makes sense. But it doesn't matter, because Pontiac is long dead.
We aren't even sure if this concept still exists somewhere, but we have some feelers out to GM to find out. If we hear something we'll jump in with an update. Until then, pour one out for the last Pontiac concept car.
