Allow me to introduce you to the Humbler!

That's not an erstwhile wrestling champ, but rather the 1970 Pontiac GTO.

"The Humbler" was the nickname that Pontiac used in its advertisements for the 1970 GTO, but the moniker also has come to be used for an extremely rare variant of the GTO that had a special piece of equipment called a vacuum-operated exhaust that made it particularly fierce in street races and other faceoffs against the competition.

Reportedly, only 231 1970 GTOs were made with this option, which came to be known either as the Humbler or the Tiger Option.

But you can own one of these rare cars -- in the smaller 1\u204418 scale version introduced by GMP Diecast. Down to the last nut and bolt, the model replicates every aspect of the real car -- even that famous VOE.

The VOE was operated via a cable that drivers could engage with an underdash lever that was ominously marked "EXHAUST."

Once you pulled on that lever, all you-know-what would break loose. The VOE would reduce exhaust back pressure that would in turn increase both horsepower and performance, "But would substantially increase exhaust noise," GMP says.

The VOE option was offered only from November 1969 to January 1970. GM officials at the time reportedly decided they didn't want to be seen as promoting street racing, so the option was pulled.

"This is the GTO that GM never wanted you to know about," GMP says. "The only proof of its existence was the short 30 second ad placed on television during Super Bowl IV. It was immediately pulled by executives and was never heard from again."

That commercial showed a young man cruising into a drive-in restaurant in his palladium silver 1970 GTO with the Humbler option. Of course, he draws attention, and gives his onlookers that "check me out" look. Then he engages the VOE, lets 'er rip, and exits the drive-in to the awe of his onlookers.

The GMP model itself is almost as spectacular as the real car. It's finished in the noteworthy palladium silver shade. All of the GTO features, such as the hood-mounted tachometer, wide oval tires and brutish styling, are there for owners to enjoy.

There are plenty of operating features, too, such as working doors, hood and trunk -- and there's that tiny little lever under the dash that caused all of the excitement. Turn the car over and you can see the tiny little circular mechanisms responsible for the rumble on the front edges of the muffler.

I only found a couple of things to quibble about. One was that the angle of the tires when they are turned out for display looks somewhat off-kilter, or at least they did on my example. I also had a bit of a problem keeping the hood on my model up for display.

But collectors of scale model GTOs -- or anybody who is into models -- will want to add this rare example to their cache. The price is $129.55, and further information is available at www.gmpdiecast.com.