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Jay Leno owns hundreds of cars, but few tell a story as understated as his 1966 Dodge Coronet, a boxy family coupe hiding one of the most feared engines Detroit ever sold to the public. That small “426 Hemi” fender badge marks the first model year Chrysler offered the Hemi as a genuine street engine rather than a race-only exotic, sold in just three B-body nameplates. Read on to find out why a car this plain-looking still commands serious respect from collectors like Leno.
Motor Trend named the 1970 Ford Torino its Car of the Year, recognizing a lineup that spanned everything from the hushed, Lincoln-quiet Brougham to the stripped-down Cobra fastback running the quarter mile in under 14 seconds. A 429 Cobra Jet-equipped Cobra could hit 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, while wagon buyers got their own dedicated towing package. Read on to find out how Ford built three completely different cars under one nameplate.
The 1974 Torino tried to be two cars at once: a muscle car still carrying a Cobra Jet option, and a brand-new luxury model, the Gran Torino Elite, built for buyers who’d rather have a power sunroof than a four-speed. Federal bumper mandates added inches and pounds, a one-year seatbelt interlock law came and went, and the fastback body style vanished for good. Read on to find out how one model year captured the entire identity crisis facing American performance cars in 1974.
Two guys running a small restoration shop in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho spent years hunting down original parts for a Mustang most people would have finished with reproductions. The payoff: a numbers-matching 1970 Mach 1 in Grabber Orange with a 428 Cobra Jet under its shaker hood, sold for ninety-nine thousand dollars at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. Owner Jack Scanlon has had the car since 2010. What convinced two restorers a thousand miles from the usual parts networks that this build was worth doing right?
Road Test TV lines up one of only 182 factory-built 428 Cobra Jet Cougar Eliminator four-speeds against an equally rare 1969 Chevelle SS396 running the high-winding L78 396. It is a genuine Ford-versus-Chevy grudge match between two cars scarce enough to anchor any serious muscle car collection. Watch the full quarter-mile pass to see which rare survivor comes out ahead.
New federal bumper regulations forced Ford to reshape the 1973 Torino’s front end, adding weight and trimming horsepower across the lineup. Despite the changes, Ford expanded the model range with the new Gran Torino Brougham and went on to outsell the rival Chevrolet Chevelle by more than 168,000 units for the year. Read on to find out how a heavier, slower redesign still managed to win the sales fight.