Race cars don’t like to go slow, but Brocky’s 1974 Australian Touring Car Championship-winning Torana has come to a complete stop in the Goulburn Valley.
The Holden Torana XU-1, which is best known for Doug Chivas pushing it into the pit lane in the 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 at Bathurst after it ran out of fuel, currently shines on the showroom floor at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution in Kialla.
The classic vehicle was first prepared for the 1973 racing season and finished runner-up in the 1973 ‘Great Race’, the first-ever 1000-mile race, after that now infamous delay, but also helped Aussie racing royalty Peter Brock take his first of three Australian Touring Car Championships the year after.
The team had pushed the Torana one lap too far on fuel in the 1973 race, causing it to run dry. Brock’s co-driver, Chivas, was forced to get out and push the car — on a slight upward gradient — into the pits, not permitted to receive team assistance until he'd passed a certain point.
Once it was refuelled in the pits, the number 1 Torana couldn’t recover its lost ground and finished second to Allan Moffat in his XA-GT.
Less for the history buffs and more for the revheads, the engine under the hood is a 3298cc six-cylinder OHV, 12-volt, with triple 5822 Weber carburettors.
Its power is 175kW at 6500rpm and torque 305Nm at 4500rpm, but its Bathurst trim makes it 212kW.
It has disc brakes on the front, drum brakes on the rear, a four-speed manual gearbox and a top speed of 240km/h.
Brock drove the car to three wins in 1974 — at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, Calder Park in Victoria and Amaroo Park in NSW — before switching to the new V8-powered Torana SL/R 5000 for the final two rounds of that season, securing the championship title at its penultimate event on the Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise.
“Whether you’re a fan of Brocky or not, this is an iconic piece of Australian motoring history,” MOVE’s Andrew Church said.
“It’s a very cool car.”
The Torana is on display at MOVE for a limited time.