The Ford Torino is a mid-size model of the Ford Motor Company for the North American market and was manufactured between 1968 and 1976. It was initially an upscale version of the Ford Fairlane, which was produced between 1962 and 1970. From 1968 the name Fairlane was used for the base models. During this time, the Torino was a part of the Fairlane. Since 1970 the Torino name was used for the mid-range model and the Fairlane was placed one level lower. In 1971, the name Fairlane was completely deleted and all Ford mid-range models bore the name Torino.
Torino is very simple for Turin in Italy. Actually, this name was proposed in the development phase for the Mustang. The model was essentially a twin of the Mercury Montego series or vice versa. Most of the Torinos were conventional cars and were most popular equipped with the 4-door sedan with or without B-pillars. But Ford also produced high-performance versions with powerful engines like the 428cid (cubic inch = 16.39ccm) or the 429cid “Cobra-Jet” engine. These cars have then been classified as classic muscle cars. Ford chose the Torino as a participant in the NASCAR racing series and was very successful. You can read many details about the different model types in this section.
