Oldsmobile Toronado History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Launched for 1966, the Toronado was a front-wheel-drive personal-luxury coupe — the first front-drive car built in the United States since the demise of the Cord 810/812 in 1937. Oldsmobile had been developing front-drive since 1958, with engineer John Beltz shepherding the project.
Its 'Unitized Power Package' mated a 385-hp 425-cubic-inch Super Rocket V8 to a 180-degree-turned Turbo-Hydramatic transaxle driven by a heavy multi-link chain. The clean, fastback first-generation styling and engineering won Motor Trend's 1966 Car of the Year and other awards; 40,963 were built that first year.
The Toronado ran four generations through 1992, shrinking dramatically with GM's downsizing while remaining the brand's front-drive personal-luxury flagship.
Body styles
- Coupe
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