Designed to replace the Fairlane, the Torino was one of Ford's shortest-lived nameplates. It debuted in 1968 and it was retired only eight years later when Ford launched the LTD II. But despite its short life-cycle, the Torino is an iconic piece of the golden muscle car era puzzle.
That's mainly thanks to the two-door coupe version, which was offered with a selection of big FE engines, including the 7.0-liter Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet. It also spawned the Torino Talladega, a homologation special for the NASCAR series.
But even though the Torino was available with up to 375 horsepower, it wasn't the fastest muscle car out there at the drag strip. Due to its curb weight of more than 3,600 pounds, the Torino Super Cobra Jet was mostly a 15-second car and rarely dipped into the 14s.
But this isn't an issue for a certain 1971 Torino owner, who turned it into a much quicker slingshot while retaining the stock appearance. So don't let the unassuming look of the Torino in the video below fool you, this FoMoCo two-door runs the quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds. Specifically, you'll see it sprint toward the finish line in just 10.26 seconds, to go with a trap speed of almost 135 mph (217 kph).
That's a bit quicker than modern and much more powerful muscle cars like the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. How is that possible, you ask? Well, this 1971 Torino isn't exactly stock under the hood.
Purchased with an original 4.9-liter (300 cu-in) Windsor V8 sometime in the 1990s, the Torino received a variety of big-block mills until the owner settled for the current 9.4-liter (573.6 cu-in) V8. Yes, that's not a typo, this engine is downright massive and trumps anything Ford ever offered from the factory in terms of displacement.
How powerful it is? Well, the owner told the folks over at DragZine that the V8 generates about 900 horsepower at the crank. But that's not all. When aided by nitrous oxide, the V8 generates a whopping 1,300 horsepower. When that happens, the Torino becomes an eight-second machine. Its quickest ET so far stands at 8.99 seconds, to go with a trap speed of 153 mph (246 kph).
Unfortunately, we don't have that specific run on video, but we featured the Torino on these pages a while back when it outgunned a few modern muscle cars with low nine-second passes. Hopefully, we'll get to see some eight-second footage on camera soon.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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