Aimed right at the Ford Thunderbird, the Tornado was a bold proposition from General Motors (GM), one which typified its 'can do' attitude and its deep pockets in the 1960s.
Oldsmobile had the reputation of being GM's engineering and technical innovator, and its engineers had been developing a V8 front wheel drive (FWD) package since the late 1950s.
So into the Toronado it went-a 7 litre V8 driving the front wheels through a Hydramatic transmission (split in half) all linked by 6cm wide a steel chain.
It was the first FWD car in the USA since the 1930s 810/812 Cord. The whole lot was subjected to over 2 million kilometres of testing because the folk at Oldsmobile wanted nothing to go wrong with their new technology.
Mind you, the brakes got the short end of the deal. Drums all round meant stopping quickly from the 195kph top speed was more of an aspiration.
An American friend of mine once owned a 'Toro'. "It took a long while to stop", he told me recently, "but I wish I still had it, because it looked so great!"
The Toronado's dramatic lines had their genesis in an early 1960s design study by David North, one of GM's leading stylists. North drew a smallish, flame-red coupe with lusciously smooth C pillars which flowed into the rear quarter panels.
Out front he gave it blade shaped mudguards. Oldsmobile executives took it as drawn and up sized it by 30%.
The outcome would influence a generation of cars, including our own 1968 Holden Monaro, whose rear quarter panels are almost an exact copy of the Toronado's.
The protruding front guards ended up on many future Oldsmobiles and parallel those of Australia's own HD Holden. The full width grille paid homage to the Cord 810/812 as did the pop-up headlights.
But it is the car's aggressive wheel arches which have become an enduring styling language for strength and power and have been copied by almost all manufacturers. Take a look at the current VE Commodore, the M and CLS class Mercedes and countless other models and makes.
When designers require a powerful, hunkered-down look to their cars they invariably and shamelessly borrow from North's original broad-shouldered motif.
Toronados remains a surprisingly affordable classic. The engineering excellence means that well maintained ones are quite trouble free. I saw quality example advertised for $USD17, 000 recently. The gold painted versions command the highest prices.
You might wish and hope that GM will again produce hero cars like the Toronado, but my guess is you will never see its like again. Times have changed. GM is no longer the design force it once was and making trucks badged as Cadillacs is all too easy.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
