Torana Rides Again

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday October 8, 2004

Bob Jennings

An Aussie icon has been resurrected, reports Bob Jennings.

Holden dusted off another of its hallowed nameplates with the unveiling of the Torana TT36 concept car at the Sydney motor show yesterday.

Holden says the Torana, unlike the Monaro, which was unveiled as the Commodore Coupe concept at the 1998 Sydney show, isn't likely to make it into production in its present form. However, the company's managing director, Denny Mooney, says the car's chassis and powertrain were "world class and would work anywhere".

The concept car, developed at a cost of $3.5 million over the past 18 months, also holds clues to some future Holden directions and one of the most interesting is its twin-turbocharged, 3.6-litre version of the recently introduced Alloytec V6 engine. It drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Holden has a "mule" vehicle on the road testing this drivetrain.

In the Torana TT36 (standing for Twin Turbocharged 3.6-litre) the engine develops 280kW of power and 480Nm of torque. Holden's US counterpart, Buick, showed a twin-turbo version of the engine in a concept car shown in Detroit in January.

Insiders say there are also clues to the interior design of the next Commodore, which is due to go into production in the first quarter of 2006.

The five-door hatchback has obvious links with the highly regarded A9X option on the 1976 LX model Torana SS, with a 5.0-litre V8 which formed the basis of the racing version.

The Torana concept's design was initiated by former Holden design boss Michael Simcoe, was continued by Max Wolff and was finished by new recruit Ewan Kingsbury. The car was built in only five months under the codename XP54 - XP being Holden's code for experimental and 54 referring to design studio 54 at Clayton, Victoria.

Overall dimensions are similar to the A9X Torana; the TT36 is 4553mm long, 1800mm wide and 1474mm high, (A9X was 4509mm, 1774mm and 1326mm). The A9X was considered powerful for its time with 164kW - now the standard power for a normal family sedan.

The Torana concept has already drawn attention overseas and there is speculation it could give some design and mechanical clues to a future Cadillac model destined for Europe. The size is about right, the TT36 having roughly the same exterior dimensions as a BMW3 Series, while its interior packaging is claimed to be closer to the size of the 5 Series.

According to Mooney, previous Holden concepts such as Project Marilyn (the convertible Monaro) were based on the Commodore platform but the TT36 is not, although it "shares many basic structural elements with the latest GM sports concepts and much of the chassis componentry is sourced directly from GM".

© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald

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