The Toronado's speedometer looked like a slot machine: a fixed needle stayed still while a rotating drum of numbers spun past behind it, climbing as the car gained speed.
Lead trim: Toronado 455 cu in Rocket V8 (375 hp at 4400 rpm, 1968–1970) · up to 385 hp
Oldsmobile Toronado1966–1970
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Oldsmobile Toronado yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe Toronado's speedometer looked like a slot machine: a fixed needle stayed still while a rotating drum of numbers spun past behind it, climbing as the car gained speed.
The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car built by Oldsmobile from 1966 to 1992 over four generations, noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic, making it the first U.S.-produced front-wheel-drive automobile since the demise of the Cord 810/812 in 1937 (GM E platform, shared with the Buick Riviera and, from 1967, the Cadillac Eldorado). The first generation (1966–1970; designers David North and Bill Mitchell) began as a design painting by North in 1962 and used a conventional but performance-boosted 425 cu in (7 L) Super Rocket V8 rated at 385 hp and 475 lb-ft, 10 hp more than the Starfire 425 and 20 hp more than the standard 425 in the Ninety-Eight, with a Hy-Vo chain drive in the TH425 transaxle and a special Firestone TFD tire. For 1968 the 425 was replaced by the new 455 cu in (7.5 L) V8, rated at 375 hp at 4400 rpm (510 lb-ft at 3000 rpm) in standard form; a facelift added small fins in 1969, and 1970 dropped the hidden headlights. Wheelbase 119 in; length 211 in (1966–67), 211.6 in (1968), 214.8 in (1969–70); width 78.5 in, height 52.8 in, curb weight 4,496 lb.
Collectors Spotted in the Oldsmobile Toronado Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Oldsmobile Toronado yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronado 425 cu in Super Rocket V8 (385 hp at 4800 rpm, 1966–1967) | 1966–1967 | 7.0 L V8 | 385 hp | 475 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Toronado 455 cu in Rocket V8 (375 hp at 4400 rpm, 1968–1970) | 1968–1970 | 7.5 L V8 | 375 hp | 510 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
In 1992 GM and Avis tested TravTek, a GPS navigation system with a synthesized voice, in rental Troféos at Orlando's airport.
In 1992, Oldsmobile and Avis quietly piloted a GPS nav system called TravTek in rental Toronado Troéfos at Orlando airport — built-in cell phone and spoken directions included, a decade before nav screens went mainstream.
The third-gen Toronado's independent rear suspension wasn't Oldsmobile's own work — it was designed by Cadillac engineers, and it bought back the rear-seat and trunk room the smaller body had taken away.
From 1974-1976 the Toronado quietly became a GM test bed for driver and passenger airbags — the 'Air Cushion Restraint System' — a full decade before airbags became an industry standard.
Squeezing a big V8 into the front-drive Toronado took an odd trick: the automatic's torque converter wasn't bolted to the gearset at all — it spun it through a silent Hy-Vo chain.
The Toronado's speedometer looked like a slot machine: a fixed needle stayed still while a rotating drum of numbers spun past behind it, climbing as the car gained speed.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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