OT - interesting "for sale" in north antarctica right before xmas, GM (holden) pre production prototype Options

[wonkipop]

saw the white one when i was a kid back in 70/71.
and more recently after now defunct GM-H retrieved it from storage and restored it.
holden built two prototypes. one for the show circuit and one to test.
they destruction tested the original twin.




always rumoured to be a third one.
pre production. almost built up before project was abandoned.
what was left of it was supposed to be hidden in some shed somewhere.



suddenly for sale.

https://www.ecuriebowden.com.au/inventory/1...qtUbt95AV7RIvl8


god knows what you would do with it.
or how you could even finish it.

[rhodyguy]

What was the ‘1972 Supercar Scare’ down under? Mentioned in the Torana write up.

[wonkipop]

What was the ‘1972 Supercar Scare’ down under? Mentioned in the Torana write up.

supercar scare was similar to the demise of the muscle car in the USA.
except not just insurance companies - the govt. itself threatened to introduce legislation to curb and control power output for cars.

aus car scene was ruled by the big 3 who all had outpost divisions here.
(now sadly all gone post GFC. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) )
Ford, GM and Chrysler.
on the outskirts of that Leyland had an operation here and VW as well.

Ford was basically building the US Falcon as the everyman car down here.
and it continued as a name plate and evolved into a relatively unique aus product.
also sold a mixture of euro and USA ford product. all were bumped up in engineering terms to cope with poor australian post war roads.

Holden (GM) ran product that during the 60s might have been characterised as enlarged vauxhals (GM UK) engineered for aus conditions. until bill mitchell of GM legend decided that Holden needed a bit of wrench away from obsessions with the "mother land" and sent in the detroit junior squad. good thing he did too. gave aus the monaro and ultimately the HQ holden.

Chrysler started out building a variation of the dodge dart as the eveyman car.
called the valiant.
by the early 70s chrysler was making local product.

all three claimed to be making cars designed here locally for australian conditions.
sort of true. but not really. the basis for all the cars was detroit design and engineering.

all this evolved into an "arms race" at the Bathurst 500 every year. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

by 1972 this arms race had escalated to epic proportions. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

.....and then the govt. stepped in.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercar_scare

there was going to be a phase 4 Ford Falcon GTHO.
(3 survived the cancelled programm and command outrageous prices).

https://www.drive.com.au/news/ford-falcon-g...-made-road-car/

the Holden Torana GTR-XU2. - a V8 stuffed into the nose of what was basically a stretched vauxhal viva. would have been fast. except when it came to a corner.
that particular car is definitely a unicorn. folks insist 2 existed.
think its been established neither survived.

https://www.australianmusclecarsales.com.au...a-308-v8-218633

and chrysler had ideas for the Charger. which was not a USA charger.
purely local design. a lot smaller and more nimble than the USA namesake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Valiant_Charger

by 1972 you could as an 18 year old walk into any of the three company dealerships and buy a bathurst spec (not far off) Falcon GTHO, Torana GTR-XU1 or Charger E-39, having just got your driver's license at the cop shop in the morning and kill yourself by tea time.
(assuming you had a lucrative paper run during your teenage years to have the $ in the bank).

the motoring journalist evan green started the whole debacle in the press.
he became the equal of ralph nader in australia.
he left for england shortly after that time. probably for personal safety. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

here ends potted history of aus muscle car era.
a golden time you might say.

-------

the torana GTR-X dates from that time.
its widely held it was a pure local design.
a guy called phil zmood is credited with it.
however deeper probing histories have shown it started with a series of sketches in GM's detroit studios. not sure which division. the design was then worked up here by the locals.

the white prototype was recovered from storage and restored for GM's centenary celebrations in the USA in the early 2000s. was on display in the USA for that.
then it was shipped back here. it usually resides in the national motor museum in south australia these days. but it gets exhibited in various other exhibitions from time to time.