A rotary-engined Torana?
Yes! Holden considered a rotary for the 1976 Torana hatchback.
The rotary was the invention of Felix Wankel.
The motor attracted significant interest across the world.
NSU, Mazda, GM, Ford, American Motors, Nissan, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce and Chrysler — all considered the rotary.
They were attracted by its light weight, compact dimensions and fewer internal components.
Each of these companies was aware of the rotary’s reliability problems and excessive fuel consumption, but believed these issues could be easily fixed by technology and money.
NSU was the first manufacturer to put a rotary into a production car, with its 1964 Spider,
Mazda followed in 1967 with the Cosmo.
GM’s then president, Ed Cole (he of the Corvair), was one of the rotary’s greatest champions and established a well-funded and highly publicised project to get it into production.
Cole envisioned the motor powering a range of GM cars.
But then the problems started to multiply.
In late 1973 the first oil supply crisis impacted the world and fuel economy suddenly became a significant factor in the purchase decision.
It was here that the rotary was at a big disadvantage.
That was strike one.
Despite its early boasts, GM was discovering that solving the rotary’s reliability and fuel consumption problems was taking longer than planned and consuming lots of money.
Strike two.
Meanwhile, the US federal government had introduced a series of anti-pollution laws which required a 90 per cent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions by 1975.
The rotary was a particularly high emitter of hydrocarbons.
Compliance meant GM had to spend even more unknown millions of dollars in development.
Strike three.
In September, 1974 Ed Cole announced he’d “postponed” the rotary program, then promptly retired from GM.
His successor, Pete Estes, terminated any further development.
And that brings us back to the rotary Torana.
In 1971 GM had sent a couple of rotary engines to Holden for evaluation.
The LH/LX Torana was thought to be an ideal mid-sized candidate for the engine.
Phillip Zmood was the car’s design chief.
After the hatchback’s final shape had been agreed upon, Zmood started work on a variation that would showcase the rotary.
A full-sized clay model was constructed and painted a deep bright green.
It was Zmood’s favourite colour for a car.
The car’s striking colour led to it being nick-named “the Green Lizard”.
Its actual name was to be “Ikara”, an indigenous word for a throwing stick.
It also means meeting place.
However, the Green Lizard/Ikara never got beyond the clay model stage.
When GM’s rotary engine program was cancelled it was shelved along with it.
David Burrell is the editor of retroautos
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