[BigAls87Z28]

Silver against a ****** background kills the nice surfacing of the hood.
Rest of the body panels are the same as a G8, for the exception of the rear quarters and tail.

What's different than a G8 GXP? Whatever GM learned from the Camaro program was injected into VF, some minor weight reduction, a huge upgrade with the interior, and a few other tweaks that aren't that big of a deal.

The upper grill looks like the same tacked-on set up they had in the Lumina. Front fenders are smoother and blend too much into the body, where G8 had pronounced front fenders.

Showing it in silver is the dumbest move. Doesn't show off any of the new surfacing, can't tell where the bright work is on the car. Ugh, what a nightmare.

As for why it took so long? There are several theories. I wrote them up in an editorial about a year ago. The one that I had heard at a private event was that there could be legal action taken by former Pontiac dealers against GM if they brought out the car.
In reality, they wanted for the upgraded VF model so that they could bake in some Chevy-esque stuff into the car before it made production.