1966 Pontiac GTO

This car comes to us with some really rather special provenance.

The owner and vendor, Tim Schofield, is the Head of the Motor Car Department for Bonhams UK.

Suffice to say, he knows a fair bit about classic cars.

He bought the car at a Bonhams auction at Beaulieu in 2012.

The car’s previous owner was Paul Teutul Snr of ‘Orange County Choppers’ fame. He bought the car for his prestigious collection shortly after it had been the recipient of the bare metal, nut and bolt, ground-up restoration you see before you today.

We understand that the car covered around 1000 miles from the time of its US restoration until its sale to Tim in the 2012 auction.

And we understand from Tim that it has covered around 2000 miles during the decade of his ownership and that most of those miles were spent travelling to and from his Farnham home to various festivals, meets and auctions at Goodwood.

For the last 10 years, this car has been fastidiously cared for by Martin Savill’s Rare Performance Motors (RPM), who look after all sorts of muscle cars and are also charged with the up-keep and maintenance of several cars from the Carlos Monteverde collection.

We have driven this car and can report that it is powerful, drivable and usable in equal measure – something that can rarely be said of most fire-breathing muscle cars from this era.

It starts on the button and, while you wait a few seconds for the power steering to get itself up and running, you get to enjoy the throaty burble and rasp of that glorious engine.

Once out on the road the steering feels light, accurate and predictable (these are relative values in the context of something that’s as long as the Queen Mary and designed for the curve-free inter-state highways of 1960’s America).

Blip the throttle and the engine note changes from a guttural purr to something akin to a velociraptor with anger management issues.

The gear changes are notchy and precise.

There’s so much torque on tap you could probably pull away in any gear.

Whichever gear you’re in, the car presses on relentlessly like the Flying Scotsman.

This big, beautiful, blue beast couldn’t be more Good Ol’ Boy if it was smuggling moonshine from Kentucky to Tennessee, playing the banjo in a sinister way and looking in two directions at once.

It starts, goes, handles and stops with confidence-boosting competence.

Rest assured, people who see it coming will stop and stare.

People who hear it at the last minute will dive headlong into the nearest hedge.

It really is quite a car.

The classic ‘Coke bottle’ shape of this ’66 Pontiac GTO is, we think, presented to optimal effect in this rich and lustrous shade of dark blue.

The paint work is in top-class condition, as is the chrome work. Even stone chips and road rash are barely in evidence.

The panels are straight and true. The shut lines are consistent and even.

There are no dinks, nicks, scrapes, scuffs, bends, creases or folds of any note that we can see anywhere.

The vinyl roof is equally free of any flaws that we’ve spotted.

All badging and trim is present, correct and in good condition. Ditto the lights and lenses.

The wheels and matching tyres are all good.

Marvellous.

The good news continues on the inside, which is a simple, functional and entirely authentic place in which to focus your mind on the job in hand: driving this magnificent beast.

The black vinyl front seats are firm, supportive and comfortable. They are in fine condition, as is the rear bench seat.

The carpets and mats are equally good, as are the door cards.

The headlining is mostly good, save for some short tears just to the side of each sun visor and some rough trim at the base of the o/s ‘C’ pillar.

The trim on the parcel shelf at the base of the rear screen has lifted loose on one side.

The door cards are in pristine condition. The dashboard is equally impressive, as are the instruments, dials, steering wheel and gear lever.

The carpets and mats are as new.

As far as we’re aware, all dials, switches, knobs, levers, toggles and buttons do exactly what they’re supposed to do – with the following exceptions.

The dashboard rev counter chose to retire some time ago and has been supplanted by a working version situated on the transmission tunnel behind the gear lever. The radio, which used to work, has currently decided against doing so.

The cavernous boot is in broadly excellent condition, but some rust dust and spots of surface corrosion under the mat support the vendor’s belief that the rubber seal around the boot lid is not entirely watertight.

The undersides of this car are sound, solid, clean, dry and free of all but the odd spot of superficial rust dust here and there. Everything looks as if it belongs to a nearly new car, not something that was built in 1966.

The engine bay is a joy to behold.

Everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

Everything looks shiny, clean and dry.

Prior to the car’s ownership by Paul Snr, we don’t know where it was, who owned it or where it had been.

Clearly, it’s been comprehensively restored and we can attest to the fact that this work has been done to an exceptionally hight standard.

The vendor had the carburettors rebuilt last year and the car has recently had a new battery fitted.

There are numerous receipts for work and servicing carried out by Martin Savill at RPM.

The car’s chassis number is 242176G106310. The ‘42’ on the second and third digits establish that this is a bona fide, authentic ’66 GTO.

The car comes with a photograph (of the car) and T-shirt signed by Paul Snr and an original owner’s guide. It doesn’t currently have an MoT certificate.

The mileage in 2012 was 88,311.

Today, it is 90,044 miles.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

This car was bought and kept by Paul Snr of Orange County Choppers for his personal collection.

It was then bought and kept by Tim Schofield, Head of the Motor Car Department for Bonhams UK, as his personal car.

It seems unlikely, to say the least, that either of these people would buy anything that wasn’t really very good indeed.

This ’66 Pontiac GTO is in fabulous condition and is, perhaps more importantly, properly fettled and set-up.

It’s a driver’s car, not just something to keep in a shed and look at occasionally.

We like it a great deal and estimate that it will fetch in the range of £35,000 - £45,000.

Viewing is always encouraged. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’