Hot-Rodded Pontiac at SEMA: Pontiac drops a big motor in the G8 GXP

The annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center is… well, where specialty equipment marketers strut their stuff. It's also where auto manufacturers pull concept cars out of the skunk works to show off to an appreciative audience of extreme car people.

So Pontiac upped both the performance and appearance antes on its already spiffy G8 GXP. The standard 415-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 got benched for a 638-horsepower 7.4-liter bullet straight from the GM Performance Parts arsenal. Other items from the Performance Parts catalog include a stouter suspension package, 20-inch black chrome wheels, performance exhaust and the Cadillac CTS-V brake package developed for road racing.

Outside there're new facias front and rear. Inside there's a slick new instrument cluster and custom leather seats. Our friends at Autoblog took the pictures.