 |
It looks like just another clean white 1971 Pontiac GTO convertible — until the wing, the stripes, and the Judge badge register. This is one of only seventeen 1971 GTO convertibles ever built with the Judge package, straight from The Brothers Collection. V8TV’s Muscle Car of the Week breakdown digs into what makes this survivor so rare, and why Pontiac collectors take that number seventeen very seriously.
At first it looks like just another clean white 1971 Pontiac GTO convertible — until the wing and stripes reveal it’s actually The Judge, and one of only seventeen convertibles built with that package for the entire model year. Straight from the Brothers Collection, this rare Pontiac hides its significance in plain sight. Watch the full breakdown to see what makes this GTO one of the rarest Judges in existence.
Pontiac’s John DeLorean named the 1969 GTO Judge after a punchline from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, and buyers snapped up 6,833 of them in the badge’s very first year. This Verdoro Green example carries a documented Ram Air III 400, four-speed, and Posi rear axle combination collectors specifically seek out. See why the name stuck long after the TV show was forgotten.
The nickname on this Pontiac GTO didn’t come from a designer or an ad executive — it came from a comedian’s catchphrase on a late-1960s sketch show that Pontiac’s marketing team couldn’t resist. Decades later, a fully restored example of that same car earned a spot in Jay Leno’s garage. Here’s the story behind the name.