Holden Torana
The Holden Torana was a car of the lower middle class, the Holden produced as a successor to the Vauxhall Viva HA in Australia from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Australian language and means "fly".
- 2.1 Torana GTR -X ( 1970)
- Torana TT36 2.2 (2004)
Year by year
HB Torana (1967-1969)
The Vauxhall Viva HB (1966-1970) was identical to Holden HB Torana.
The first Torana was introduced in May 1967 in the Australian market and replaced as a facelift version of the Vauxhall Viva HB Vauxhall Viva HA. He was a two -door sedan with 12 "wheels available and had a 1.2-liter inline four- cylinder engine and a manual four-speed transmission. On request, there was a three-speed automatic Borg - Warner. The cars had drum brakes on all four wheels, on request, there was a brake booster and front disc brakes.
In March 1968, there was the "Series 70 " machine as an option. This engine was highly compacted, its camshaft had higher cam and there was a Stromberg CD Single carburetor. So the new engine with 51 kW (69 bhp ). When using this engine front disc brakes were included as standard. The weaker motor, there were no longer in communication with the automatic transmission. Additionally, there was a sports model, which was named after the famous Australian racing driver Jack Brabham Brabham Torana. The engine of the Brabham Torana was based on the " Series 70 " machine, but had two Stromberg carburetors and sports air filter. Together with the exhaust system with less backpressure increased these measures the performance of 58 kW ( 79 bhp ). The Brabham Torana had also spread wheels and tires, brake booster and front disc brakes as standard, a different lettering and black trim. An automatic transmission was not available with this model.
In September 1968, the Torana was born in 1969 was presented, also called HBII Torana. The new series had a body made in Australia and was also known as 4 - door sedan. The body of the four-door sedan was shipped to England, where it was built Vauxhall Viva. The car now had safety steering columns, deep recessed into the dashboard gauges and new steering wheels of the big Holden. From England no more components are imported, so there was no activation of stand- and -beam and the horn on the steering column stalk more. The high-beam switch was now in the footwell like the big Holden. There was now a dual-circuit brake system, but the front disc brakes were the weakest engine is still an option. The Brabham Torana there was also, but only as two-door. He now had the steering wheel of contemporary Monaro GTS, many additional instruments, other lettering and black trim.
The HB Torana was still built to October 1969. A total of 16,318 pieces of the first series ( with imported from England body) and 20 243 pieces of the second series ( with australian body) emerged.
LC / LJ / TA Torana (1969-1975)
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU - 1 (1972-1974)
The next generation, the LC Torana, appeared in October 1969 and was available with four-or six-cylinder in-line engines. The six-cylinder had a displacement of 2,261 cm3 ( ' Torana 2250 '') and developed a power of 70 kW (95 bhp ). The six-cylinder cars had a longer wheelbase of 2,540 mm ( 2,433 mm compared with the four-cylinder ), a more aggressive front designed for the longer engine and optional manual three- or four-speed gearbox or an automatic dreitstufige. The Torana was " Car of the Year 1969 " at the Wheels magazine.
There were brand new 2 - and 4-door bodies in the S or SL version. The customer had the choice of bench or bucket seats in front and had to request again the front disc brakes. Soon after the introduction of the model, there was a more powerful six-cylinder engine with 2638 cm3 displacement, of the SL 84 kW (114 bhp ) ( Torana 2600) and in the 2-door, sporty GTR with Stromberg WW dual carburetors even 92 kW (125 bhp ) ( Torana 2600S ) provided. Later, the 2.6-liter R6 has been replaced by a bigger engine with 2834 cm3 ( Torana 2850 ), which also came with dual carburetors when GTR used.
In July 1970, the first true high-performance Torana, the GTR XU -1, along with Harry Firth of the Holden Dealer Team for the popular production car racing series in Australia and for rallies has been developed. The real purpose of this vehicle but to give Holden in the famous Hardie - Feredo 500 race at Bathurst a fighting chance against the powerful Ford Falcon GT -HO with a V8 engine, a race that was as Australia's jewel in the crown of motor racing is considered. The LC Torana GTR XU -1 was equipped with a six cylinder engine with 3047 cm3 displacement, which developed with the help of three Zenith Stromberg CD -150 carburettors an output of 118 kW (160 bhp ). In addition, the car with Gusskipphebeln, a high-performance cylinder head was equipped with equal camshaft and a manual four-speed transmission of Opel. Special touches were rear spoiler, special exhaust pipes, fender flares, a number of additional instruments and standard front disc brakes. The Torana GTR XU -1 proved to be a " small missile" both on the road and in rallies, as the lightweight, powerful sports coupe had an excellent power to weight ratio. He was soon to be the ideal race car for many occasions a name, especially in series races and rallies. He inherited the Monaro GTS 350 in 1970 successfully with a V8 engine and won many rallies and also the aforementioned Bathurst 500 - mile race, the 1970 Ford XW Falcon GT -HO Phase Two and XY Ford Falcon 1971 GT- HO Phase Three had won.
In February 1972, the revised LJ Torana was introduced, the six-cylinder models now the big Holden HQ looked similar. Many mechanical components took over from his predecessor, LJ; the biggest changes were to the engine range. The four-cylinder models retained their 1,2 - and 1,6- liter engines, but it was now available with a 1.3 -liter R4. The six-cylinder models were still available with the 2.3-liter and 2.85 -liter R6 -R6, but also with 3.3 liter R6 from the Holden HQ for the GTR model. When the gears there were no changes. Then the Daewoo - Chevrolet in 1700 was established as a South Korean sister model of the Holden LJ Torana in August 1972.
A high- performance version of the 3.3 -liter R6 LJ Torana GTR there was in XU -1 that developed well over 200 bhp. By equipping the XU -1 with the 3.3 -liter engine, the larger Stromberg CD triple carburettors with 45mm aperture and the new, close-ratio, manufactured in Australia Vierganggetriebe they gave the car the boost it needed, a serious competition for the Ford XY Falcon GT -HO phase Three, who had indeed won last year the Hardie - Feredo -500 race at Bathurst. In the 1972 edition of this race, which took place under very humid conditions, the light Torana with Peter Brock was able to pull a win at the wheel against the heavy Falcon. This was the beginning of Peter-Perfect/Torana-Legende and the first of five victories at Bathurst during the next ten years. Holden also developed a V8 - fired version of the Torana with 5,047 cm3 displacement, which is often called GTR XU -2, but never got past the prototype stage addition. This was due to the " Supercar " affair in 1972, was exercised at the considerable political pressure on Holden, Ford and Chrysler, so they abolished their ' Bathurst Supercars ' as the XU -2. Reason was a newspaper campaign against the " bullets on wheels", which should be available as standard vehicles to the public soon. In the end, all three manufacturers bowed to the pressure and Holden adjourned the introduction of the V8 Torana for two years. In April 1974, the LJ Torana was replaced by the slightly larger LH series. To fill the gap until the appearance of the small Holden Gemini, was offered the four-cylinder LJ models with short wheelbase and 1.3-liter R4, and 1.8 -liter R4 with a quick facelift ( plastic grille in car paint and new rear lights ) as TA Torana.
GMH built 74 627 LC Toranas. From LJ Torana emerged total 81 813 copies, some of which were exported to New Zealand, but only as a six-cylinder to make the same offer Vauxhall Viva HC no competition. The TA Torana was produced only 11 months and brought it to 11,304 pieces.
LH / LX / UC Torana (1974-1979)
Holden LX Torana SS (1976-1978)
In March 1974, a completely new Torana was introduced again. The LH Torana had grown significantly and only as a 4-door midsize sedan available. Despite the considerable overall dimensions of the car for the usual in the 1970s, relations was in pretty closely advised. He looked similar to other contemporary GM products such as the Opel Ascona. After the presentation of the four-cylinder models in May 1974, he was the only car that could be ordered with R4, R6 and V8 engines in the same body. These were the 1.9 -liter R4 of Opel, Holden - known machines with 2.85 l and 3.3 l and the Holden V8 with 4.2 l and 5.0 l
The 5.0 liter V8 was the LH Torana SL / R 5000 reserved. A special mixture model from the SL / R 5000 and the L34 option, which was intended for Bathurst, had a special engine block and other changes to improve the reliability in the racing. The most noticeable external change of only 263 cars built were the times riveted fender flares for the use of wider wheels and tires. The L34 proved to be fast and successful, but fragile. Later he replaced the more developed A9X option for the LX Torana of 1977. The LH Torana L34 won in 1975 the famous Bathurst 1000-mile race with Peter Brock and Brian Sampson at the helm and in 1976 with Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick.
From LH Torana Although combi and combi coupe prototypes were built, but never reached mass production. Instead, produced Holden called SKD kits of LH Torana for the automobile manufacturer Nordex SA in Montevideo. There, the model was finally assembled as Renault 24 for the local market. The successor joined the 1978 Renault 18 Turbo on.
In February 1976, the slightly revised LX Torana came. The most obvious external change was the replacement of the rectangular headlights of LH by runde.in rectangular frame. The frame of the side windows were no longer in body color, but black and the logo on the grille was larger. Soon after its release, the engine power had to be reduced such that the valid from mid-1976 emission limits could be met.
There was again engines with four, six or eight cylinders. New was a 3 -door station wagon coupe, which although not with the 1,897 cm3 - was offered engine of Opel. In November 1976, the Torana in 1900 came out as Sunbird. The introduction of Sunbird coincided with the first attempt by Holden to offer a handling package for its model range. The introduction of "Radial Tuned Suspension" ( RTS) began with the LX Sunbird sedan and Kombicoupße and then the LX Torana.
In the course of 1977, also an uprated version of the series, which should win the race at Bathurst again arose. This was the A9X option for the 4-door SL / R 5000 sedan and 3- door station wagon coupe SS, each with 5.0 -liter V8. The A9Y cars resembled those of visually LH series with L34 option, but had a reverse scoop on the hood, which was intended for injecting air into the engine during the race, so this gave the best performance. The A9X package was a departure from the old L34 package for road use, the engine was not changed. Nevertheless, the A9X had some mechanical specialties, such as rear disc brakes, stronger axles and a heavy duty differential with 10 screws. After the Torana A9X was quickly made ready for the 1977 Bathurst 1000-mile race, he lost his debut against the Ford Falcon Allan Moffat and Colin Bond. But the A9Y was soon revised and proved in the next two seasons as dominant in the Australian racing. In 1978 and 1979 he won the Australian Championship and the 1,000 mi - race in Bathurst.
With the introduction of the UC Torana in March 1978 accounted for the V8 engines and the sporty SL / R variant. The UC series showed a significantly modernized vehicle front and a completely new dashboard. There were only two trim levels and two six-cylinder engines with 2.85 l and 3.3 l An available upon request " deluxe package " made the UC Torana SL sparring partner of Ford TE Cortina Ghia. It contained a laminated windscreen, tinted side windows and rear windows, intermittent wipers for the windscreen wipers, radio recorder, better cloth upholstery, sporty instruments and bumper horns.
The Holden Sunbird was also updated to the UC series and continue to be sold with the 1.9 -liter R4 engine, with its body of this UC Torana corresponded as a sedan or station wagon coupe.
For a time it was thought to bring out a 5 - door hatchback of the UC Torana, which would have the Rover SD1 seen similar and would have been brought out with a longer wheelbase. The idea made it but only until the clay model, probably because the introduction of the Commodore just was imminent.
According to the VB Commodore launch in November 1978, the management realized that the Torana was too similar in size, this modern vehicle. Therefore, we let the Torana 1979 fall out of the program and the Sunbird followed in 1980, but got just before the end, the new 1.9 -liter ' Starfire ' engine that was based on the 2.85 -liter engine and Opel unit replaced.
For a while there was talk that the series Torana / Sunbird with 1980 also continue with a UD series, which would have given the Opel Ascona B resembled from the front. But after the car towards the new Japanese models (notably the Datsun Bluebird and Mazda 626, as well as the Chrysler Sigma) dated to Holden machine decided for the easier way, the new "Starfire " simply the VC Commodore introduce.
Finally, the Camira, a version of the front-wheel drive GM J -Car, took over the role of the middle-class car with four-cylinder engine in Holden. The "Starfire " engine but it was another two years for the Commodore, also in the VH series, available.
From LH Torana created 70 184 copies, from the LX Torana 65 977 pieces were manufactured. From the UC Series - Torana and Sunbird - Holden built just over 55,000 cars.
Concept Cars
Torana GTR -X ( 1970)
The Torana GTR -X was designed in the construction of the LC Torana and should be built at the beginning of the 1970 series. He had a wedge-shaped fiberglass body with tailgate and - at least as a prototype - the mechanics of the LC Torana GTR XU -1.
The GTR -X saw the sports car icon of the 1970s, for example, Ferrari 308 GT4, the Lotus Esprit or the Mazda RX- 7 is similar. He weighed 1043 kg and reached a top speed of 210 km / h A Torana GTR -X would be - built in series - was the first vehicle from Holden, that would have been equipped with disc brakes on all four wheels.
As Holden brought out the first promotional brochure about the GTR -X, it said: "(...) His long, slim hood is highlighted by a wedge-shaped grille. The body line swings back upward to a high-mounted rear light unit. Simplicity is its design principle. This is achieved by covered headlamps, a steeply raked windshield, recessed parking and turn signal lights and recessed into the body filler caps and door handles. The front and rear bumpers complete the body contour. One recognizes the car to the inscription GTR -X, which can be seen at a brisk black and orange stripes along the door sill trims. "
The Torana GTR -X was already developed by Holden very far, the brochures were printed, photos and promotional films produced - all this shows that Holden really wanted to manufacture the cars in the series, but ultimately it was afraid of the high costs and said that because of the then small population of Australia not being able to sell enough vehicles for a profitable production.
One of the two finished GTR -X prototype has been recently restored with its original white color and is publicly exhibited in Melbourne at Holden subsidiary in the Salmon Street.
Torana TT36 (2004)
In 2004, Holden a sporty five - door hatchback as a concept car, which was called Torana TT36 ( TT = Twin Turbo; 36 = 3.6 l V6 ). It was said that the model constitutes a new GM platform in front and take the appearance of the new VE Commodore in 2006 anticipated. The car was outside a little larger than a BMW 3 Series, but stood with his large interior of the BMW 5 Series in competition. The echo in the auto world was mixed, with some older Torana enthusiasts the color did not like and they missed the crisp look of the Toranas the 1970s.