During this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage we get to meet the designer of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, David North. David contacted Jay personally and talks a little about the process of designing this classic car.
Ultimately this design came out of a sibling rivalry within the GM family. Oldsmobile was jealous of the Buick Riviera and Pontiac Grand Prix and wanted to steal some of that spotlight. In terms of the building process, Oldsmobile was always considered innovative, and the ’66 Toronado was no exception to this rule.
David makes it known that when he created the Toronado concept, he had little hope of it actually being produced. The car went from concept to product with very few changes, which is not the norm. So the end product is incredibly close to what David initially envisioned.
As far as standout features, the Toronado was a front-wheel drive car. Jay’s car, shown here, was rebuilt as a rear-wheel drive vehicle; something that many enthusiasts did not like. David, though, set the record straight by saying that he did not mind the change. Under the hood, isn’t exactly a stock Olds mill, either, as this Toronado is actually equipped with an early LS7 crate engine from Chevrolet Performance, with a forged bottom end and a couple of turbochargers. Oh, and well over 1,000 horsepower!
The Toronado also had a unique look. It sported long doors and pop up headlights and a different body shape than most cars of that era. Typically the design was a box on a box with a definite break between the two. David wanted to change that look by making the design quickly go in above the wheels, creating huge fender flares that are still popular today.
Unfortunately the Toronado got a bad rap by a Consumer’s Guide article, which stated that the car had poor brakes. Oldsmobile tried to counteract this by having the Unser family drive the car on Pike’s Peak. It was too little too late, though, and the following Toronados shifted away from David’s initial design, but the ’66 will always remain special to him.
Ashley Cegelka basically grew up at car shows as a kid, which nurtured her love of classic musclecars. As she got older, her love heightened for the Ford Mustang specifically, and her first car was an ’83 Mustang with T-Tops that her grandpa helped her to get out on the road. Now that she’s grown her summers are spent at car shows and the dragstrip, taking in the rumble of an awesome engine and the clean lines of a great ride.
