BigOldChryslers posted this picture of the 1968 Olds Mini-Toronado in a comment, and I just had to share it, as it graphically shows how much unnecessary front end space there was in the production car, as well as just being all-round crazy. Oddly, perhaps, its story is written up in a German site (zwischengas.com) , so I’ll give a Cliff’s Notes translation:
In the frigid winter of 1967-1968, two Lansing, MI employees at Oldsmobile who drove FWD Toronados were repeatedly asked to help push fellow workers’ cars stuck in the snowy parking lots. Some engineers and technicians saw this, and were inspired to cut down a new 1968 Toro, give it solid rubber bumpers fornt and rear, and turn it into an official “Pusher”. Not only was the front end cut, but a big chunk out of the middle too, turning it into a three-seater.
The Mini-Toro did duty for a few years, and then was cleaned up a bit and sent off to the Ransom Olds Museum, where presumably it still rests, except when needed to help move other cars around. Maybe.
This car still exists at the R.E. Olds Museum in Lansing…
Put a formal roof on it and you’ve got this.
So now we know what inspired that look.
That is a great looking car. A personal luxury coupe. still my favorite style
The ’79 to ’85 are the best looking of all Toronados!!
Those Toro’s just look so RIGHT! Great proportions, very elegant.
Geez, that looks like a FWD AMX, doesn’t it?
Yes it does! Didn’t notice until you mentioned it.
I knew I wouldn’t be the first to post that.
I like it! Imagine how tight the turning circle would be.
The article actually says exactly that: (poorly translated) “This car can turn on a dime and still give you change”.
Apparently, the people at Olds were so proud of the result they actually gave it its own press release. Which makes you wonder: if they saw all the benefits of the shorter FWD design, then why did they not use that knowledge for production cars?
The Toronado had to conform to the E-body specs. The Allante and Reatta did use the basic idea.
FWD AMX was my first thought, too.
With the big pointy bumpers on the 66 and 67 I think I would be very hesitant to push anything but piles of feathers with these cars.
As one who loves Commercial Cars , this is great .
-Nate
I think it’s deceiving. They didn’t take a whole lot off the front. Together with taking out the middle and rear sections it added up, and lost a lot of passenger and cargo space in the process. They then parked it further back making the front look shorter in comparison than it actually is.
I think that they were trying to park it within the wheelbase of the stock car, which it wouldn’t quite fit.
Yeah, I noticed the door is much shorter and there appears to be no back seat.
The amount of bondo/finberglass in that white Olds is really outrageous… even though it’s hard to observe in photos
That front end is definitely more attractive than every Toronado made between 1968 and 1985
FWD AMX wannabe?
There is a photo of this car in James Flammang’s Cars of the Sensational 70’s. His series makes for some of the best coffee table books. But, for some reason, that rubberized front end reminds me of a “car muzzle,” if such a thing ever existed.
You can bet the bigwigs at AMC weren’t amused in the LEAST.
1968 AMC meeting:
CEO of AMC: Johnson, what’s with this midget Toronado concept, at the GM testing plant?
Johnson: It’s only a concept, G.W.,…. They have no plans for production.
CEO of AMC: Only a test mule, eh? Well, we’ll that’s good, uh good to hear.
….. FIND IT and BURN IT!!
Looks like a 1969 AMX……that was my first thought….
The real one may have wasted space and extra weight, but it has real style. I have always been attracted to cars that were at least a little bit excessive, just for style. I especially love long hoods, whether they are necessary or not. The Mark V probably had more wasted space and excess weight than any other car ever made. But it was beautiful. The aerodynamics of the cut up car must be terrible. But what is really shocking is that it looks as good or better than most anything you can find new today. That grille reminds me of the new Toyota Yaris.
Click my link to see another interesting Toronado conversion: an airplane tug. It has to set some record for the size of overhang, as in everything past the front wheels back to the end of the doors.
Someone thought it was a great idea…
Yuck!
Surely, this gives the ’68 Toro the award for the widest wheelbase differential in a single year…
Fun fact – one of these makes a cameo in All The President’s Men, when Woodward/Redford first calls Deep Throat from a phone booth.
Eight doors. I still believe we will eventually see cars like this, with different styling of course. They will either be the jellybean style or SUV style.
Amazing thing is that I think I’ve seen this before. Like others have said it looks like an AMX and that could be it.
It was in a Mechanic Illustrated back in the late 60s. I think I still have the copy at my mom’s house in NJ.
I’d love to see that munchkin towing an airplane past the big multi-pane window in the lobby at SeaTac.
I have seen it at the museum, but apparently didn’t take any pictures. In addition to the push bumpers, you can see it has a tow hook setup in front, a spotlight, and if I rember correctly, a built in jumper cable hookup, so it was a pretty capable rescue vehicle.
Apply that treatment to something more substantial like a 1970 Imperial and the results might be something really impressive.
Imagine. Engineers and machanics and and body being allowed to be creative. What a cool thing they created and practical for the location. Could that happen today? I wonder.
I found this via google for moving around floatplanes. its pretty wild what half a Toronado can do.