Ford’s mid-sized cars received an all-new chassis and exterior sheet metal for 1972, and a new name, too: Gran Torino.
Ford’s intermediate-class cars were completely new for 1972, as the old Falcon-based unibody architecture was finally ditched in favor of a body-on-frame setup that was essentially a smaller version of the Ford full-size platform. A perimeter frame with five crossmembers supported coil springs on all four corners and double-wishbone SLA suspension at the front, and while this new package shared nearly the same wheelbase as the previous generation, it was around 300 lbs heavier. The Torino name remained for the base models, but the upmarket version was now billed as the Gran Torino.
Exterior styling was all new as well, but in this original 1972 Ford spot, the sheet metal is soon stripped away so we can get a full view of the new chassis. (Two years previous, Ford and J. Walter Thompson took a similar approach with their Illustrated Car campaign we featured here.) The new platform was a winner for the Dearborn carmaker, as Torino and Gran Torino sales rose to darned near a half-million units in ’72, matching the popular LTD in volume. Intermediates were hot in the 1970s, and Ford captured its share of the market. Video below.
I really liked the 1972 Gran Torino… particularly the Sport and the Brougham. But the 1973+ new bumper standards didn’t adapt well.
do not recognize the hubcaps on the grand Torino… did they actually make a 460 in the Elite?
The’re actually called wheel covers not hub caps and I had them on my ’72 Ranchero Squire.
the ’72’s were a sensation when new, I was a kid when they came out but even I noticed what a big deal they were, and yeah the ’73s were disappointing with the ugly bumper
Just seeing that clip reminds me of Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino. 😉
I had the 72 Torino sport. Loved it so much. Sold it in 1994.
My bad. Mine was 1973