- BODY: Auto World (based on Aurora original)
- WHEELS: Vincent
- TIRES: Road Race Replicas
I admit I’ve never been a fan of Ford Torinos. I like the 1970 model’s front end with the hooded headlights, but all the others don’t do much for me. That said, the first ’68 GT with the fastback roofline wasn’t a bad looking car. Though it’s huge glass area made it look larger than it actually was, the Torino was in fact a “mid-sized” car…or what qualified for a mid-sized car in an era when a “full-size” car was capable of seating 8 adults while towing a dual-axle Airstream.
The only copy of this body in my collection is finished in what Ford cataloged as “Candy Apple Red” which, to my eye, looks like a deep crimson red (I always think of “candy apple red” as a darkish metal-flake color) and it bears it’s GT side stripes in black rather than the more commonly seen white. It is mounted on a translucent blue Ultra-G chassis which compliments the red body admirably, especially when seen through that large rear greenhouse. Although there is no badging to indicate such, one can’t help but think this brute must be equipped with the rare mid-year 428CJ option, likely mated to a close- or wide-ratio 4-speed.
Then again, the way it runs, it may be a 390, because this is one of the slower cars in the muscle fleet. Note, however, that this is not all bad! Being a slower car, it handles very well-better than you’d expect for such a large vehicle. It has amazing grip from its low-profile Road Race Replica silicone tires and holds on in the turns, taking an “easy does it” approach to racing which is surprisingly effective even though it isn’t usually what most pleases the crowd. Facing off against a contemporary-one of the ’69 GTO’s or Chargers, for example-it gets left in the dust on the straghtaways, but as soon as the twisting starts it catches up fast, allowing it to sneak up on its competition just when they think they have a victory in the bag! This slow moving power is likely what resulted in her being bestowed with the nickname “Bulldozer,” and as any experienced racer will tell you, a race is often won in the turns! So, OK, so it’s a 390 with a 4-speed! Nothing to sneeze at, that’s for sure!
The look is finished off with a set of Vincent wheels in a style oddly called “Fuchs” (and how do you pronounce that, exactly?) which I have only used on 2 of my cars, as the style is a little more modern than my usual tastes, but they look really good on this car. In fact, this car looks so good that I’ve considered acquiring a second one in green or turquoise if one ever comes up for sale at a price I’m willing to pay. So, now that I think about it…maybe I actually like the fastback Torinos more than I realized!
