FORD

Torino

The Ford Torino was Ford's mid-size car for the North American market from 1968 to 1976, and it grew from an upmarket trim line into a true American icon. When it launched in 1968 the Ford Torino was the plush, upscale version of the intermediate Ford Fairlane, but it proved so popular that by 1970 Torino had become the primary name for Ford's intermediates, and by 1971 the Fairlane badge was dropped altogether. The most exciting chapter came at the height of the muscle-car era, when Ford built genuine performance versions of the Ford Torino: the 1968-1971 Torino GT and the muscular 1970-1971 Torino Cobra could be ordered with thunderous big-block V8s of up to 429 cubic inches, while the slippery 1969 Torino Talladega was a special aerodynamic homologation model created so Ford could dominate NASCAR superspeedways, its extended nose helping it win on the high banks. The body was restyled for 1972 into the curvaceous "Coke-bottle" Gran Torino, and it was this generation that achieved lasting pop-culture fame: a red-and-white 1975-76 Gran Torino became the unforgettable star car of the television series Starsky & Hutch, prompting Ford to release a limited run of around 1,000 "Starsky & Hutch" Special Edition Gran Torinos in 1976. From practical family sedans and wagons to fire-breathing muscle cars and a television legend, the Ford Torino covered an enormous range, and today the rare performance and special-edition versions are the most sought-after of all American intermediates.