Holden Torana: from family car to Bathurst hero
It began as a small, sensible Holden. By 1979 the Torana had won Bathurst three times, including Peter Brock's first win and his most dominant.
The Holden Torana began in 1967 as a sensible small car, based on a British Vauxhall. Within a few years it had become one of the great Australian performance cars, and it is now one of the most wanted classics from the years when Holden and Ford fought it out at Bathurst.
Small car, big engine
The turning point came with the LC Torana of 1969, which had a longer nose to fit Holden's six-cylinder engines. In 1970 came the GTR XU-1, a lightweight, tuned version built to race. Its successor, the LJ, gave the XU-1 its finest hour in 1972, when a young Peter Brock drove one alone to win at Bathurst, beating the big V8 Falcons in the rain. It was the first of his nine wins at the mountain.
The LH Torana of 1974 was bigger and could be had with a V8 for the first time, in the SL/R 5000. A racing-focused L34 version followed and won Bathurst in 1975.
The A9X
The ultimate Torana arrived in 1977. The A9X package was offered on the LX SS hatchback and SL/R sedan, with changes made to win races, including a stronger rear axle and disc brakes at the rear.
It won Bathurst in 1979 in the most dominant drive in the race's history. Brock and Jim Richards led every lap and finished six laps clear of the field.
The end of the line
The Torana name ended with the UC in 1979. The four-cylinder Sunbird carried on for a short time, and the front-wheel-drive Camira took over the small Holden's place in 1982. General Motors retired the Holden brand at the end of 2020. That history is part of why Toranas, and the V8 and XU-1 models above all, are now so valued.
Buying one
A Torana is a simple car to work on, and parts are easy to find. The risks are rust, in the floors, sills, boot and around the windows, and fakes. Plenty of ordinary Toranas have been turned into copies of XU-1s, SL/Rs and A9Xs over the years. A genuine high-performance car should come with documents proving what it is, and an expert inspection is worth every cent before you pay a premium.
Toranas for sale now are in our Torana price guide.
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