1969 Ford Torino Talladega

It may not have been the muscle car a purist would have dreamed up, but the 1969 Ford Talledga was on its own special mission. After the Ford Motor Company spent a lot of the 1960's and early 1970's watching the taillights of quicker Mopar and GM muscle rivals, there needed to be some retaliatory salvo. But in Nascar, the entries from Dearborn were consistent front-runners. In 1969, Ford's new machine was so hot that even Nascar superstar Richard Petty defected from Chrysler's Plymouth Division to drive it. It was called "The Talladega", named after NASCAR's newest superspeedway. This was Ford's answer to Dodge's Charger 500, and as required of Dodge, Ford built street versions to qualify it for racing. Lucky for us...

The Talladega was based on the 1969 Fairlane Cobra SportsRoof, but with some necessary aerodynamic differences. The nose was tapered and stretched by five inches, and a flush-mounted grille replaced the recessed production one. (The front bumper was actually a Ford Fairlane rear bumper narrowed to fit.) And the rocker panels were raised one inch so the race cars could be lowered correspondingly without violating NASCAR's ride-height requirements.

The NASCAR versions ran Ford's 427-cid V-8, then switched to the Boss 429. Ford's Street Talladegas used the 335-bhp 428 Cobra Jet with a columnshift automatic transmission. None had ram air, but all got a Drag Pack oil cooler. Cobra issue bench seat interiors were used. Street Talladegas were offered up in just three colors for 1969: Wimbledon White (286 built), Royal Maroon (258 built), or Presidential Blue (199 built). One added nugget:  All production Talladegas are believed to have been built with one additional option...an AM Radio. Snaaazy!

Ford's aero warriors defeated the Charger 500, winning 30 races, including eight by Petty, and bringing Ford the 1969 NASCAR title. When the King Cobra version of the redesigned 1970 Ford Torino disappointed in testing, the 1969 Talladegas and Spoiler IIs were retained for NASCAR's 1970 season. Richard Petty eventually was lured back to Mopar with the introduction of The Superbird, but Ford had produced a real winner, and by happy necessity, unique members of the muscle fraternity.

Performance wise, a 1969 Ford Torino Talladega had a 0-60 mph time of 5.5 seconds, and a 1/4 mile time of  14.4 seconds at 101 mph. The fleeting few examples are very sought after by car collectors today, and commanding high prices to acquire.