After looking the car over carefully, and seeing some of them in action last weekend at the Pontiacs in the Park in Dinwiddie, Virginia, I must say, it's a helluva car! The fit and finish is excellent. The car performs up to the hype. At least four of them posted 13.70s in the 1/4. Considering all the real racers and hot street cars were .2-.3 seconds off their "normal" times, it shows the GTO lives up the claim it can go 13.50s.
It also fits perfectly into the original description of what GTO is. That is, a mid-sized car with a big engine in it. One post here says something about it should have been a "sports car". This illustrates the problem with time and mythology. GTO was always a great performance car, but NEVER a "sports car". The only GM car to claim that moniker is Corvette. Even the cute little P-Bod (Fiero) wasn't really a sports car. It was a 2-seat "commuter vehicel" with a little ass thrown in for fun.
The best part of the new GTo is that it exists at all. Car & Driver said it most succinctly: "Don't look a gift goat in the mouth!" And the Aussies do build a good car, regardless of the application.
No, it isn't a Corvette trans, per se. It more likely resembles the ones from the F-body.