Oldsmobile Toronado

 

The first release Oldsmobile Toronado from 1967 (No.264) was good old solid Corgi fare, a big, glamorous Yank Tank - innovative for the US having front wheel drive - but a grand gas-guzzler from over the pond never the less. It had the extravagant styling, lots of chrome and pop-up jewelled lights. By adding take-off wheels in 1968 it was made even better, another favourite.

The Toronado was actually very innovative and is perhaps a useful measure of how different the Americans really are. In the UK a few years before we had developed our own revolutionary front wheel drive car using a clever sub-frame construction like the Oldsmobile has. We developed the Mini, they came up with the Toronado.

The Americans build a performance two seater with a 7 second 0-60 time and it weighs two tons, a sports coupe with a turning circle like the Queen Mary. No wonder they liked the E-Type so much, even if it did break down all the time. I would also bet that the 34bhp Mini would out-run this 385bhp monster on twisty British roads. Another interesting fact about this car is that it shared a lot of its underneaths with the Buick Riviera, also beloved of Corgi.

The first release does not have removable wheels and is either bright or dark blue metallic, it was also in turquoise in a gift set (GS36). The Golden Jacks release is the same casting with the addition of the removable wheels feature. It also comes in a lot more colours, all metallic, red, blue, gold, green or bronze. Values are fairly consistent across all colours and are similar to values for the non-take-off wheels version (No.264). Production ran from 1968 to 1972.

     
Corgi Toys 264; Oldsmobile Toronado; Bright Blue Metallic Corgi 264; Oldsmobile Toronado; Dark Blue Metallic Corgi 276; Oldsmobile Toronado (Golden Jacks); Metallic Bronze, Take-Off Wheels
Corgi Toys 264; Oldsmobile Toronado; Bright Blue Metallic

Corgi 264; Oldsmobile Toronado; Dark Blue Metallic

Corgi Toys 276; Oldsmobile Toronado, Golden Jacks; Metallic Bronze, Take-off Wheels

 


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Last Edit: 12/06/2024   Page Added 26/12/2019