1970 Oldsmobile Toronado Coupe (LHD)

Description

With a history dating back to 1897, Oldsmobile was the oldest division of General Motors when its doors closed in 2004 and cars like the legendary Curved Dash series helped establish Ransom Eli Olds' reputation as one of America's finest car makers. Oldsmobile began working on a front-wheel drive project in the late Fifties that resulted in the ground-breaking Toronado of 1966, a full-size personal luxury car in the same class as Ford's Thunderbird. The Toronado was innovative in a number of ways, not least of which was the Unitized Power Package, with a subframe for the floorpan, powertrain and front suspension and unique rear suspension to isolate passengers from engine vibration and the road. GM developed the all-new Turbo-Hydramatic 3-speed for the Toronado, along with the Quadrajet four-barrel carburettor while curved side glass and the ?Draft-Free? ventilation system were also signature features of the new model. Firestone also designed a unique TFD tyre especially for the Toronado, with a stiffer sidewall and thin white striping. The Toronado's distinctive styling evolved over the first generation model's lifespan, gaining stylised rear fins in 1969 and hidden headlamps that lasted until 1970. Inside, the interior more than matched the exterior, with most customers choosing the Strato bench seat up front to take maximum advantage of the FWD layout, while large doors allowed easy access to the rear seats. Under the bonnet was Oldsmobile's familiar 425-cid V8, with the larger 455-cid engine offered from 1968 onwards; the car was actually a strong performer, with a 1968 model recording a 0-100 km/h time of 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 217 km/h. There was also the W-34 GT performance package that raised the V8's output to 400 horses via a cold-air induction system and hotter camshaft. One of the most radical post-war cars produced by a major American car maker, the Toronado has always enjoyed a strong following and has long been regarded as a wonderful collector's item. With only a little over 25,000 made in 1970, the Toronado is also a rare beast and they are rarely seen on Australian roads.