When you're hot...

The LC model Torana GTR XU-1 in the middle of 1970 was a dynamic, exciting and even unexpected arrival in Holden new car showrooms. But Holden had a higher purpose in mind for the XU-1 than merely spirited road use, because this GTR-on-steroids existed for one reason only – to go racing.

Story: Steve Normoyle

This article featured in

JOIN NOW!

In summary

Holden abandoned a potential Monaro hattrick after 1969 and switched its Bathurst effort to the smaller, six-cylinder Torana GTR XU-1.
Engineers worked within a tight timeframe and a Holden parts-bin approach, pricing the XU-1 at $3148 so it could contest Class C against Valiant's 245 Pacers at Bathurst.

When the Torana LC GTR XU-1 first broke cover in August of 1970, no one saw it coming. It was a surprise to the motoring public and much of the motoring media alike. The first mention of it in Wheels magazine was in that year’s August issue, the mag reporting that Holden was building a ‘tri-carb Torana GTR’ for Bathurst. In the previous month’s issue, editor James Laing-Peach clearly had no knowledge of the car about to be released as the GTR XU-1; he made no mention of it at all in a preview of contenders for the Bathurst 500.

But then why in 1970 would anyone have expected such a car as the XU-1? Holden was still riding high on the sales and racing success of the Monaro. The big Holden coupe was barely two years old. As we explored in AMC issue #118, there is no reason Holden couldn’t have made it a hattrick of Monaro wins on the Mountain if the will was there.

There was a way, but just not the will. The celebrations of victory for Colin Bond and Tony Roberts in 1969 had barely died down when the decision was taken. No more Monaros; for its motorsport effort Holden instead would switch to a hotted up, bigger-engined version of the Torana GTR – which itself had only just been released on the market.