Production is Reportedly Not in the Cards for this Attractive Sport Sedan

What's in a name? While the dream team at Holden, General Motor's Australian division, may not have been thinking about

There was no questioning that when the Monaro nameplate was chosen for Holden's most recent V8-powered sports coupe, that a reincarnated Torana would eventually follow. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

Shakespeare's classic play Romeo and Juliet when giving their latest muscle-bound concept car a name, Torana is nevertheless strong enough to conjure up images of power, speed and rawness.

To most brought up in North America, power and speed arrived in the 1960s and '70s, courtesy of Big 3 muscle cars such as the Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Chevelle, GTO, Barracuda, and the list goes on. But it wasn't only Detroit that was producing big-cube, tire-smoking machines. Over in Australia, Holden was waging a war with its Monaros and Torana A9Xs against Ford of Australia's Falcon and Fairlane HOs for first place at the legendary Bathurst race and the Mount Panorama hill-climb. There's no questioning that when the Monaro nameplate was

The Torana TT36 is essentially an experiment in style, engineering and design. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

chosen for Holden's most recent V8-powered sports coupe (ironically sold in North America as the Pontiac GTO), that a reincarnated Torana would soon follow.

Although Holden produced the Monaro almost immediately after its first showing, it decided to keep the Torana TT36 a concept car from the moment its design team put pen to paper. The vehicle is essentially an experiment in style, engineering and design, basically a vehicle purposely designed to gather public opinion. Why? Holden stepped out of its safety circle when developing the Torana, abandoning the theory that its concept vehicles must be based off the existing Commodore lineup in appearance, powertrain and mechanicals. Such a redirection is often risky business, even if the target audience is as small as a few thousand vehicles.

What show-goers at this year's Australian International Motor Show will notice is that the Torana TT36 looks dissimilar to any

The Torana TT36 concept car looks dissimilar to any conventional Holden. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

conventional Holden. Lengthy overhangs up front and in back, typical to Australian family vehicles, have been reduced as short as possible, while the styling has taken a turn on the wild, or more appropriately, the outback side.

Penned by Holden's Studio 54, located in the suburbs of outer Melbourne, the concept attempts to capture the essence of the Torana's hard-charging racing victories by echoing it through an aggressive front and rear treatment. It's obvious that this is no ordinary Holden, as it features an unusually deep front valance, twin alloy fuel filler caps, and a racing-style rear diffuser with integrated exhaust tips.

"The Torana displays some of the key proportions we'll see in future cars generally," stated Holden Design Director, Tony Stolfo. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

But beneath the pumped-up fenders and ten spoke 20-inch alloy wheels lies a vehicle with styling cues that will more than likely influence the vast majority of upcoming Holden designs. While it's plausible that less dramatic versions of the car's LED head and taillamps will emerge in production trim, its continuous panoramic roof, which stretches from windshield front to tailgate, may stay. Holden Design Director, Tony Stolfo said, "[The Torana] displays some of the key proportions we'll see in future cars generally: front wheels forward, minimal overhang, high belt lines and a high deck. All these elements create strength and purpose and deliver expressive contemporary styling."

What lurks beneath the Torana TT36's sharply profiled hood isn't the Monaro's Gen III LS1 V8, but a hand-built, all-alloy

A hand-built, all-alloy 3.6-liter V6 with air-to-air intercoolers and twin KO4 Garrett turbochargers hides under the Torana's sharply profiled hood. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

3.6-liter V6 with air-to-air intercoolers and twin KO4 Garrett turbochargers (hence TT36), a sophisticated dual overhead cam configuration to replace the big cubes and old-school pushrods of the big American mill. Holden's goal this time around was to demonstrate that a smaller engine can still produce the grunt of a V8 without resorting to the size. The concept's motor, derived from Cadillac's CTS, was also featured in this year's Buick Velite convertible concept.

While the 3.6-liter V6 is dwarfed by the 5.7 liter LS1 V8 in displacement, the power it produces is nearly equal. Holden claims that the motor can make 375 horsepower, more than most GM products with the V8 application. Show-goers will also be wowed by the Torana's 354 lb-ft of torque, 90 percent of which is available from a lowly 1,600 rpm. The only difference in this picture will be a lighter load at the pumps, and the mild hiss of the turbo as it spools up for afterburner-like thrust, replacing the rumble of the small-block V8. Holden hasn't released any performance figures for the rear-wheel drive, six-speed manual Torana TT36 concept, but a mid five-second acceleration time to 100 km/h could be expected.

Twenty-five years have passed since the era of the Torana A9X, and just as the first Toranas were an example of Holden's best

Just as the first Toranas were an example of Holden's best back then, the TT36 Concept is a representation of Holden's best today. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

back then, the TT36 Concept is a representation of Holden's best today. Of course, being a modern GM vehicle not all credit can go to Holden. The division not only drew on GM for its motor, but also used the world's number one automaker for suspension and chassis components as well as modular structure systems, although modified to suit the Torana's needs. While there is no confirmation on which of GM's multiple global platforms the Torana is built off of, it would seem logical that the Zeta chassis has been used. This platform is also the basis for several other GM global products.

In the same way that the TT36's neck-snapping performance, eye-catching pink paint and aggressive styling draws attention, the

Holden's interior design team latched onto forecasted industrial and domestic fashion trends for inspiration. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

interior will grab more than a few looks as well. Holden's interior design team latched onto forecasted industrial and domestic fashion trends for inspiration. Offsetting the vivid pink exterior, the TT36 has been finished in the finest materials in an exclusive pallet of contrasting whites and blacks to create as sense of contemporary cool, which the Australian design team calls "nu luxury".

The dashboard, doors, steering wheel and sculpted front and rear bucket seats have been trimmed in glove-soft white leather, juxtaposed by the door pulls, hand brake, seatbacks, and lower door and transmission tunnel trims which are accented in mirror-finished black lacquered plastic. Frosted Perspex has replaced traditional carbon fiber weave or metal as accents on the center console. The trunk's floor and the rear bucket seatbacks have been trimmed in a durable, rubberized plastic, and can fold flat to allow for carrying long, unwieldy loads. Despite the fashionable colors and textures, a car with such an interior would most likely drive owners bankrupt as it would cost a fortune to keep clean!

But despite the interior's extravagance, the recurring theme of magenta never fades. Open the door and a healthy pink glow emits

Even all the information supplied to the driver via the retro instrument cluster is displayed in pink. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

from the door panels, center console and rooftop via LEDs. Pop the tailgate and a strip of pink LED lighting bathes the black and white trunk in a magenta hue. Even the "Start Engine" button at the top center of the console glows in pink, and all the information supplied to the driver via the retro instrument cluster is displayed in... you guessed it, pink. Not everything in the vehicle is white, black or pink, mind you. The center console houses a touch-screen LED which encompasses the controls for the CD, SatNav, and DVD. It has the ability to interact with Bluetooth devices including cellular phones. Rear passengers get a pair of LCD displays as well, mounted on the backs of the front occupants' headrests.

As clever, quirky and desirable as the Torana TT36 is, it is unlikely that it will be dislodged from its concept car state. Still,

While a production version of the Torana TT36 may never see the light of day, it was built with technology that's currently available, so something similar is possible. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

this doesn't mean that it's curtains-down when the Australian International Motor Show comes to a close. The TT36 was built with technology that's currently available, meaning that something very close to the concept could be tangible in the not too distant future.

But does the Torana have a future? Quite possibly! A midsize vehicle such as this does not exist in the current General Motors portfolio, and the fact that it can be built off a number of existing GM platforms and has the ability to share a multitude of components is what allowed the concept to be built in such a short period of time in the first place. It's illogical to think that a production car couldn't use this

According to insiders, nearly all of General Motors' American brands will receive some sort of technology handed down from the Torana TT36 Concept. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

development path.

As for the rest of us who don't live down under, what can we look forward to? The possibilities are literally endless. According to insiders, nearly all of General Motors' American brands will receive some sort of technology handed down from the Torana TT36 Concept. As was already mentioned, many vehicles will use the Zeta chassis including the replacement to the Pontiac GTO, a new Chevrolet midsize coupe and convertible slated to replace the Monte Carlo, as well as the possible rebirth of the Camaro and Firebird. Buick is also looking to produce a new large sedan as a replacement to the Park Avenue, plus an attention grabber like the Velite concept. A new wave of General Motors products is on the way, Chrysler and Ford beware!