Ford Torino Talladega
The
Ford Torino Talladega was a
car produced by the
Ford Motor Company during
1969 only. Named after the
Talladega Superspeedway racetrack in
Alabama, it was a special racing version of the
Ford Torino produced specifically to make Ford competitive in
NASCAR racing, and was sold to the public only because
homologation rules required a certain number of sales to the public. 754 cars were built, including prototypes; production examples were constructed during January and February of 1969 at Ford's
Atlanta, Georgia plant.
The car was based on the Torino
fastback 2-door hardtop. To make the car more aerodynamic at speed, a sleeker front section was added. Regular production Torinos had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel. The Torino Talladega replaced this nose with one extended by six inches, with a flush-mounted grille on a more rounded front end. The close-fitting bumper was actually a rear bumper cut and reshaped to fit the front end. The rocker panels were reshaped and rolled to allow Ford to run the racing cars closer to the ground within NASCAR rules.
Racing versions of the car were fitted with the
Ford Boss 429 engine, the
Ford 427 Cammer having been banned by NASCAR. Unusually, Ford homologated the engine separately from the car it was to race in; production Talladegas received the
Ford 428 Cobra Jet, which while powerful was not intended as a racing engine, while the racing engines were installed in the limited-production
Ford Mustang Boss 429.
The only option on the production vehicles was the color; choices were Wimbledon White (286 built), Royal Maroon (258 built) or Presidential Blue (199 built).
The Torino Talladega did exactly what Ford hoped on the racing circuit, winning 29 Grand National titles and the 1969 championship.
Chrysler's initial competitor was the
Dodge Charger 500, which proved inferior to the Talladega; the later
Dodge Charger Daytona and
Plymouth Superbird were more effective competition. After the
1970 season, NASCAR effectively banned the "aero cars" and the Talladega's competitive history was over.
A largely equivalent vehicle was produced under the
Mercury brand as the
Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II.
Today, a Torino Talladega is a fairly collectible car, although for some reason their values have not risen nearly as high as the
Mopar "aero cars" - possibly the sheer outrageousness of the Charger Daytona and Superbird, with their huge rear wings, have eclipsed the far more subtle Torino Talladega.
*
List of Ford vehicles*
Talladega page at fordfairlane.com*
Aero Warriors site about the "aero cars"; concentrates on the Mopar cars, but includes much about the racing history of all the cars.
