Ford Torino 1968 GT

Ford’s 1968 Torino GT paced the Indianapolis 500 in convertible form, then backed up that spotlight moment with a NASCAR championship season and a mid-year Cobra Jet 428 that the factory rated conservatively at 335 horsepower. Car and Driver clocked a Cobra Jet-equipped Torino at 14.2 seconds in the quarter mile. Of the three body styles offered, the fastback proved by far the most popular, with over 74,000 built against just 5,317 convertibles.

Torino Cobra! A 1968 Fastback!

A Torino GT convertible led the field at the Indianapolis 500 in 1968, and that pace-car moment was really just a preview of what Ford’s new mid-size fighter was built to do all year long. Underneath the fastback’s radical, Mustang-echoing roofline sat a lineup of engines that escalated fast — starting modest, then arriving mid-year with a 428 Cobra Jet that Ford, tellingly, rated conservatively on paper. On the track, David Pearson took the 1968 NASCAR championship in a Torino, proof the shape wasn’t just for show. The question every fastback buyer eventually asked was simple: which engine was actually under this hood, and did the factory sticker tell the whole story?

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From Indy Pace Car to NASCAR Champion

Ford built the 1968 Torino as the new base car for its NASCAR racing program, and a Torino GT convertible paced the Indianapolis 500 that year. On track, David Pearson carried the Torino to the 1968 NASCAR championship, cementing the fastback’s reputation well beyond the showroom.

The Cobra Jet Arrived Mid-Year — and Underrated

Early 1968 Torinos offered 302 and 390 cubic-inch V8s, but the second half of the model year brought the 428 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet. Ford officially rated the Cobra Jet at 335 horsepower, a figure most enthusiasts and period testers considered conservative. Car and Driver ran a Ram Air Cobra Jet Torino with a C6 automatic and 3.91 gears to a 14.2-second quarter mile at 98.9 mph.

Rarer Than the Fastback Look Suggests

Of the three 1968 Torino GT body styles, the fastback coupe was by far the most popular, with 74,135 built, compared to 23,939 two-door hardtops and just 5,317 convertibles.

Four Ways to Put the Power Down

Buyers configuring a 1968 Torino GT had their choice of a three-speed manual, an optional four-speed manual, or one of two automatics — the lighter-duty C4 or the more robust C6 — depending on which engine sat under the hood. Pairing the top Cobra Jet with the C6 and the right rear-end gearing was how Car and Driver’s test car reached its headline-grabbing quarter-mile time, proof the transmission choice mattered nearly as much as the engine itself. The car was also originally launched under the Fairlane Torino name before Ford shortened the branding, part of a broader push to build cars that could win on Sunday and sell on Monday.

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