About 6 weeks ago we South Aussies, as part of a spirited run to Walker Flat, stopped for breakfast at Birdwood and our promised FOC annual tour of the National Motor Museum. The date for this event was chosen to coincide with the Holden display which featured the Torana GTR-X. Our particular interest in the GTR-X is that Bolwell were reputed to have had a hand in the construction of the body, or bodies. This exciting machine was publicised as a one-off (or the only remaining) vehicle. Here it is and I think you'd have to agree that it is quite sensational with very advanced styling for its time (1969-70).
But wait a minute, it's white. Now this photo below was taken by me at Sandown in 1978. Holden used to take their specials on the road and this particular display, as you can see, features a tricked up Gemini panel van. I remember this particular occasion well as it was when Fangio ("the maestro") raced the W196 Mercedes GP car against Sir Jack in the BT19.
Anyway, this car at Birdwood was a white one but it didn't look freshly painted. In fact it looked remarkably like the white car in the GTR-X brochures. Then I started to think - wasn't there a time when the one and only GTR-X had a permanent home at the National Museum? Now that was a silver car. It stands to reason that there are two cars. I remember in the publicity of the time that they were supposed to have produced 3 cars. There was also talk around about then that there was an unused body out the back of the factory for ages. Everyone would have loved to have gotten their hands on that!
But wait a minute, it's white. Now this photo below was taken by me at Sandown in 1978. Holden used to take their specials on the road and this particular display, as you can see, features a tricked up Gemini panel van. I remember this particular occasion well as it was when Fangio ("the maestro") raced the W196 Mercedes GP car against Sir Jack in the BT19.
Anyway, this car at Birdwood was a white one but it didn't look freshly painted. In fact it looked remarkably like the white car in the GTR-X brochures. Then I started to think - wasn't there a time when the one and only GTR-X had a permanent home at the National Museum? Now that was a silver car. It stands to reason that there are two cars. I remember in the publicity of the time that they were supposed to have produced 3 cars. There was also talk around about then that there was an unused body out the back of the factory for ages. Everyone would have loved to have gotten their hands on that!
13 comments:
Jim S says as far as he knows Bolwells weren't involved in the GTR-X in any way though it was before his time at the factory so he couldn't swear to it. Some years ago he was told that the moulds for the GTR-X were at the Reinforced Plastics (RP) plant at Clayton hidden in the long grass out the back of the building. This was told to him by a fellow that had worked there. It may have been in the late eighties. He presumed from that that RP had made the bodies.
Jim's other comment was "That is one car that should have been put into production. I have never met anyone who thought otherwise."
Hi john ,
Until tonight i wasn't aware Holden only made two of these beautiful beast's. I had seen the white GTR-X in photos in magazines and the net,and if as you say the silver one is permanently housed at the national museum, then either it hasn't been there all this time or there are three of them. I say this because im in N.S.W and i remember way back in 1983 we went to a little car museum out near Camden N.S.W , it wasn't a large museum but they had on display a number of brittish sports cars and some 30's and 40's Fords and vauxhauls but what caught our eye's was the shiny silver GTR-X on display. We looked at it for a hell of a long time and read the Holden pr of it's release which was from memory to be released or sold to the public in 1973, the Holden info also stated that it was to have the 202 XU-1 spec motor along with a V8 version the 253. To this day i still scratch my head and wonder why holden did not go ahead with it , even today it still looks good.
Maurie, I have a feeling there were 3.
... and indeed there are.
[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e312/Leakey/Image024.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e312/Leakey/Image023.jpg[/IMG]
...ssshhhhhh!~
Tried to go to those photos but it looks like PhotoBucket has removed them.
There were 3.Holden's used one as a crash test vehicle and say it no longer exsist's
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338615171_596562_zpsp5hng336.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338613580_316469_zps0f9gmq8u.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338615325_678858_zps5xbfuwjl.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338615267_288595_zpsz7lt8eib.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338615229_888840_zpsbaq8wce7.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/DSC01171_zpsbdgv2jnr.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338609746_784160_zpsydbeunha.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338613469_332345_zpsdagrbu29.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/Image024_zpsazkp5ezh.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/Image023_zpswi7sweu3.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/DSC01150a_zpslabmgzgk.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/DSC01160_zpsn0eztygd.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/DSC01168_zps77ztozr3.jpg.html
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http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/DSC01170_zpsvkcyswec.jpg.html
Thought you'd particularly like the shots of the original tooling.. :)
This GTR-X was bought from GMH in 1988-90 ... it was
'for sale by tender to GMH employees only' with one condition of sale, being 'it would not, and could not, be registered in Australia'. The car has since been sold again.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1553736084839256
Creative customs are using the moulds and the car to recreate the GTR-X, which will be a new car, and hence nullify the original agreement/understanding with GMH when it was sold.
I wish them all the luck in the world.
Myself, I purchased a hail damaged Honda S2000, and am building my own convertible version of the GTR-X. When I have progeress, I shoot up some pics. Currently moving to Tassy, so that's gonna be a while! Anyway, hope this sheds some light on this amazing vehicle.
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/baravuqu_zpsvxo5uhib.jpg.html
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/justintimberlake9/media/y2umare9k_zpscjdas0to.jpg.html
Couple more.
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