Holden Torana

Holden Torana at a glance

Torana series and production

The HB figure is the sum of 16,318 cars with imported panels and 20,243 with locally made bodies. Together the series add up to about 395,000 Toranas, by our calculation from the Wikipedia figures.

HB (1967–1969): a Viva made in Australia

The first Torana replaced the Vauxhall Viva HA in May 1967. It was a small two-door on 12-inch wheels, with a 1.2-litre four of 42 kW (56 bhp), a four-speed manual and an optional Borg-Warner three-speed automatic. In October 1967 the Brabham option added twin carburettors and 59 kW (79 bhp). The "'69 Torana" of September 1968 had locally built bodies and a four-door sedan, and the Brabham became a model of its own.

LC and LJ GTR XU-1 (1969–1974)

The LC of October 1969 turned the Torana into a family of cars. Four-cylinder models kept the short body, while the six-cylinder cars got a longer wheelbase and engines of 138 and 161 cu in, replaced by a 173 cu in six in July 1971. Wheels magazine named the LC its Car of the Year for 1969.

The sporting GTR and the GTR XU-1 arrived in August 1970. The XU-1 was developed with Harry Firth and had a 186 cu in (3.0-litre) six with 119 kW (160 hp). For the LJ facelift of February 1972 the GTR switched to a 3.3-litre six, and the XU-1 version was race-bred: three CD-175 carburettors, a close-ratio gearbox and 142 kW (190 bhp). The "Bathurst Special" had a 3.08:1 final drive instead of 3.36:1 and a top speed of 217 km/h (135 mph).

Peter Brock drove an XU-1 alone to win the wet 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500, the first of the Torana's five Bathurst victories. Holden also built a GTR XU-1 prototype with the 308 V8 and about 224 kW (300 bhp), but the 1972 Supercar scare, which started with a newspaper story about 160 mph road cars, killed the project. The V8 Torana had to wait until 1974.

The short-lived TA of February 1974 was a facelifted four-cylinder LJ for Australia only, sold for 11 months. LJ-based cars were also built in South Korea as the Chevrolet 1700 and the Saehan Camina.

LH SL/R 5000 and L34 (1974–1976)

The LH of March 1974 was a new, larger four-door sedan, and for the first time a Torana could have a V8. Engines included sixes from 2,262 to 3,298 cc and the Holden 253 (4,143 cc) and 308 (5,044 cc) V8s. In the SL/R 5000 the 308 was rated at 179 kW (240 hp) at 4,800 rpm and 427 Nm at 2,400 rpm, and the car reached 208 km/h (129 mph).

The L34 option of 1975 was aimed at racing. Holden built 263 cars with wheel arch extensions and a higher-compression engine developed with Repco, and sold them only to licensed CAMS competitors. L34 Toranas won Bathurst in 1975 with Peter Brock and Brian Sampson and in 1976 with Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick.

LX and the A9X (1976–1978)

The LX facelift of February 1976 brought round headlights and a two-door hatchback. From July 1976 the engines had to meet the ADR27A emission rules, and outputs fell sharply: the 308 dropped to 126 kW (169 hp), the 3.3-litre six to 64 kW and the 2.85-litre six to 58 kW.

The A9X option of 1977 was available on the SL/R 5000 sedan and on the SS hatchback. It added rear disc brakes, heavy-duty axles and a 10-bolt differential; road cars used the L31 5.0-litre V8, while the race cars ran the L34 engine. Brock won the 1977 Hang Ten 400 at Sandown on the car's debut, although Ford took Bathurst that year. The A9X then took the big titles: Brock won the 1978 Australian Touring Car Championship, Bob Morris the 1979 title, and Brock and Jim Richards won Bathurst in 1978 and 1979, the second time by a record six laps.

The Torana at Bathurst

The list follows the road cars. The six-cylinder XU-1 won before Holden offered a V8 Torana, and both the L34 and the A9X were sold as road-car options before they raced. The only year from 1975 to 1979 without a Torana win was 1977, the A9X's debut season, when Allan Moffat and Colin Bond won for Ford.

UC and the end (1978–1979)

The UC of March 1978 had square headlights and a new dashboard, but the V8 and the SL/R were gone. Only the 2.85 and 3.3-litre sixes remained, alongside the four-cylinder Sunbird. With the VB Commodore on sale from November 1978, Holden dropped the Torana in 1979; the last Australian Sunbird was built in September 1980.

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