page_title: Ford Torino
section_title: 1970
hierarchical_section_title: Ford Torino / Second generation (1970–1971) / 1970
caption_attribution_description: Ford Torino GT photographed in Ste. Anne De Bellevue, Quebec, Canada at Cruisin' At The Boardwalk 2010.
context_page_description: The Ford Torino is an automobile that was produced by Ford for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was a competitor in the intermediate market segment. The car was named after the city of Turin, considered "the Italian Detroit". The Torino was initially an upscale variation of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane, which Ford produced between 1962 and 1970. After 1968, the Fairlane name was retained for the base models with lower levels of trim than those models which wore the Torino name. During this time, the Torino was considered a subseries to the Fairlane. By 1970 Torino had become the primary name for Ford's intermediate, and the Fairlane was now a subseries of the Torino. In 1971 the Fairlane name was dropped altogether, and all Ford intermediates were called Torino. This name was one of several originally proposed for the Mustang while in development. The Torino was essentially a twin to the Mercury Montego line.
  Most Torinos were conventional cars, and generally the most popular models were the 4-door sedans and 2-door hardtops.
context_section_description: For 1970, the Torino became the primary model and the Fairlane became a sub-series of Torino. Ford moved away from emulating the boxy lines of the full-size Fords to a completely new body for the 1970 Torino/Fairlane line influenced by coke bottle styling. Just as tailfins were influenced by jet aircraft of the 1950s, stylists such as Ford stylist Bill Shenk who designed the 1970 Ford Torino were inspired by supersonic aircraft with narrow waists and bulging forward and rear fuselages needed to reach supersonic speeds (see Area rule).
  The 1970 Torino had more prominent long hood short deck styling, and was longer, lower and wider than the 1969 models. All models had a lower and less formal roofline compared to previous years. The windshield rake was increased, and the SportsRoof models had an even flatter fastback roofline. The Torino had a pointed front end and overall styling appeared much more aerodynamic than years previous. The grille covered the full width of the front fascia and surrounded the quad headlights. The front fender line extended to front door, sloping downward and gradually disappearing in the quarter panel. Both front and rear bumpers were slim tight fitting chromed units, that followed the body lines. The taillights were situated in the rear panel above the bumper, and were now long rectangular units with rounded outer edges.
  The model line-up for 1970 initially featured 13 models. The base model "Fairlane 500", was available in a 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, and 4-door wagon. Next the mid-level "Torino" was available as a 2-door and 4-door hardtop, a 4-door sedan and station wagon. The 4-door pillarless hardtop was a new body style for the 1970 model year (Chevrolet introduced this body style for its intermediate Chevelle starting in 1966). The "Torino Brougham," the top trim level, was available as a 2-door and 4-door hardtop, and a 4-door station wagon. The sporty "Torino GT" was available as a 2-door SportsRoof and convertible. The performance model, the "Torino Cobra" was available as a 2-door SportsRoof only.
  To add to this extensive line-up, the Falcon name was added mid-year as a new entry-level intermediate. The Ford Falcon compact model continued for the first half of the 1970 model year, but was discontinued as it could not meet new federal standards that came into effect on January 1, 1970. As a result, the Falcon model name was used as the new price leader for the intermediate line. The 1970½ Falcon was available as a 2-door and 4-door sedan, and 4-door station wagon. These were the lowest priced intermediate models with less standard features than the Fairlane 500s. The Falcon was the only intermediate that used a rubber floor instead of carpet, and was the only series that offered a pillared 2-door sedan. Also introduced mid-year was a Torino 2-door SportsRoof model, which was marketed as a low price alternative to the GT. With the above mid-year additions, the Ford intermediate line-up consisted of 17 separate models.
  The new body for 1970 added inches and pounds to the Torino resulting in stretching the chassis used in 1968–69. All cars grew by about 5 in (127 mm) in length, and now rode on a longer 117 in (2,972 mm) wheelbase (station wagons used a 114 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase). Weight was up for most models by at least 100 lb (45 kg). The wheel track was widened to 60.5 in (1,537 mm) in front and 60 in (1,524 mm) in the rear to help the Torino improve its road holding abilities.  The extra width between the spring towers increased the engine compartment size allowing the larger 385 Series V8's to fit. However, the suspension remained unchanged from the 1969 models. Optional suspension packages included the competition suspension and heavy-duty suspension options. The competition suspension consisted of extra-heavy-duty front and rear springs (500 lb (226.8 kg) per inch front, and 210 lb (95.3 kg) per inch rear), Gabriel shocks (staggered rear shocks on 4-speed cars), and a large 0.95" front sway bar (0.75" standard on other suspensions). In a 1970 Motor Trend test of a Torino Cobra
caption: 1970 Ford Torino GT convertible
exif: {"Image Make": "Polaroid", "Image Model": "i531", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "00.01.0446a", "Image DateTime": "2010:04:26 12:44:35", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Copyright 2007", "Image ExifOffset": "282", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "Image Sharpness": "Normal", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "1", "Thumbnail YResolution": "1", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3842", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5311", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/201", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:04:26 12:44:35", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:04:26 12:44:35", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "1434539/614400", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "7653/1000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "497/100", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "MultiSpot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "31/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1920", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}