This 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado Is All Kinds Of Front-Wheel Drive Awesome

Not many people know about the Oldsmobile Toronado outside the United States. And while the name might be familiar to Americans, there aren’t many under the age of 40 who really know what this unique car is all about. Sure, it has some snazzy styling, but the ingredients sound quite familiar. Born in the 1960s, two doors, available with a massive 7.5-litre, 400bhp V8—just another vintage American muscle car, right?

Except the Toronado funnelled all its 400bhp and 500 torques to the front wheels.

The Toronado debuted in 1966 as a higher-end two-door luxury car from General Motors, featuring a big, longitudinally-mounted V8 driving the front wheels through an automatic transmission. Magazine reviews at the time were actually favourable, save for the biblical power-on understeer. But this car wasn’t designed to be a stoplight brawler or a corner carver—it was a muscular, stylistic cruiser and in that role, it was actually quite popular.

Enthusiasts tend to favour the styling of the 1966 models, but 1968 saw the optional 400bhp engine and front disc brakes, which really made a difference in stopping this 2.5 tonne cruiser. This particular car - a 1968 Toronado Coupe for sale through eBay in Florida - isn’t the GT model, but it still brings 375bhp and over 500 torques of tyre-slaying fury, and is listed as an all-original survivor in great shape with 67,000 miles on the clock. Even the factory air conditioning is said to be functional, and that porno-red interior is certainly full of 1960s nostalgia.

I like the uniqueness of the Toronado. It stayed in production through the early 1990s, but these early cars from the ‘60s are by far the keepers of the bunch, and I’d forego the 1966 design for the updated brakes in 1968. This specific car has documented history, and though the seller is convinced Toronados will be the “next $50k cars from the sixties,” I think they would’ve already made it there by now if that was going to happen. The Toronado is more of a cult car than a mainstream hit, but that also makes it a great 1960s muscle car (if you consider front-wheel drive cars to be muscle cars) that’s both unique and affordable to the masses.

How affordable? Bidding begins on this car at $10,000, though there is a reserve. Similar Toronados seem to be selling around $20,000, and as long as it’s as pristine as the seller is advertising, that seems like a fair figure for this piece of interesting American automotive history.