Australian Supercars of the 1970's
by Phillip Whelan
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Australian Supercars of the 1970's by Phillip Whelan |
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In the early 1960's, the big three Holden, Ford and Chrysler offered only 6 Cylinder engines in their family sedans.
The first to break away from this tradition was Chrysler, with the release of the 1966 AP6 Valiant Regal. The optional 273 cubic inch V8 was only available with automatic transmission, the car being designed as a luxury sedan rather than a high performance sporting model.
All that was to change as Ford followed with the XR Falcon range, among the line up, the all gold GT. It's 289 cubic inch was linked to a four speed manual transmission, and was most definitely aimed at the sporting market.
Performance became the keyword as the big three released ever more powerful cars, in the hope of creating a Bathurst winner. The saying in those days was "Win on Sunday sell on Monday".
As it is today a win at Bathurst made the drivers known all over the country, Harry Firth, Bruce Mc Phee, Allan Moffat, and Peter Brock are just a few from the era of the late 60's and 70's.
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With Ford about to release the XA Phase 4 GTHO Falcon, and even Leyland designing the never to be released Force 7, the Supercars were dying out. Government concerns over young drivers purchasing these powerful cars second hand, rising fuel prices, and ever increasing Japanese imports killed off these monsters. It was however an incredible chapter in Australian automotive history.