Holden Torana LC GTR

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2006-08-21.

The LC Torana was released to dealers on October 28 1969. The XU1 appeared later. The LC was being designed with clay models back in 1966, and while on the drawing board they tried over 60 different grille/headlight combinations before they settled with the final product.

The Torana came in both four cylinder and six cylinder models with both having four and two-door models with the six being easily recognizable by it’s larger bonnet (overall length 10.5 inches), from the screen back they were identical in looks. The LC Torana set new standards for handling and braking in a smaller lighter package.

GTR and XU-1 Torana’s were also used by the Australian police as there pursuit vehicles after they looked at the GT Falcon but the fuel economy was inferior and there was only a slight performance difference. Harry Firth (ex Ford team manager) was employed by GM-H to build a Bathurst winning package that was not expensive to manufacture.

With the Monaro it would need major work to help it handle and brake over Mount Panorama - although it had the raw power of the 350 chev.

Power alone was not enough to take the checkered flag, so with a bit of a play around with after market and factory six cylinder bits and pieces Harry and his team of engineers started to develop the XU-1 (even though at the time GM world wide had a “no motor racing” policy).

They covered this technicality by leaving any racing to the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) as they had been doing with the very successful Monaro’s. Just the thought of a 186ci six cylinder car trying to match the 351ci V8’s would have probably been laughed at by the white collars of the day but if they could just extract a bit more power it may be possible!

The first car was built early 1970 and raced in the sports sedan class by Anthony (Tony) Roberts under the guise of the HDT with a 186ci engine (it had a small chamber blueprinted 161ci head to increase compression, and had triple Stromberg carburettors).

GMH liked what they saw and with the price being $3148 the Torana GTR XU1 went on sale in 19th August 1970. With a weight of 1100 kgs, stiffened suspension, hot motor, rack and pinion steering it was not everyones favourite car to go cruising but if you decided to push this car to the upper limits then you would have a smile as wide as your face, as this car loved nothing better than to be thrashed down a winding country road.

Don Holland proved they were on the right track to get a win at Bathurst with a first up third and a win in class c. The LC Torana was Wheels car of the year award in 1969 and was the best selling light car in 1970 and 1971.

Also see:Torana LC Technical Specifications Torana Car Commercials