This was the 240Z's potential rival made by the Australian automaker

Ready to Fly Australia, a country which is located in the southernmost part of the planet Earth, turn out also has a long history in the world's automotive, although now the country's automotive industry is almost no longer seem vibes like before. Despite that, as we all know, the land of kangaroos once had Holden, an automotive brand that was quite well known throughout the world.

If the Holden Torana GTR-X could be entered into production line back in the 1970s, it would be a potential rival to the Datsun 240Z. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

As quoted of Manofmany, the Australian automotive company stopped all local production in 2017. These days, the brand imports its vehicles from plants in Germany, Canada, and the USA. Nevertheless, models like the Holden Commodore (which delivers reliable performance at an affordable price) remain the stuff of legend.

The Holden Torana GTR-X concept is built in 1970 based on the relatively traditional Torana GTR XU-1 coupé. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

Besides that, this Australian manufacturer also had a mid-sized car called the Holden Torana (the name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly") which was produced between 1967 and 1980. Throughout the 1960s to 1970s the reverberation of sports cars trend seemed to have succeeded in influencing the interest of this Australian manufacturer to develop the sports cars.

The Holden Torana GTR-X concept designed with a pointed nose, steeply raked windscreen and pop-up headlights also fitted with advance technology at the time such 4-wheel vacuum assisted disc brakes, retractable seat belts, foam filled fuel tank and electric windows. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

In short, then Holden Torana GTR-X concept car was born, initially, was seriously considered for production in the early 1970s. The concept car is built based on the relatively traditional Torana GTR XU-1 coupé, the concept was not only given a ground-up redesign using in-vogue features (a pointed nose, steeply raked windscreen and pop-up headlights), but also featured with advance technology at the time.

The Holden Torana GTR-X concept has the long-grain black vinyl wrapped interior to complete two cozy racing-style seats, a three-spoke steering wheel and also a dashboard full of gauges and buttons. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

As qouted of Wikipedia, the GTR-X had a fibreglass body appeared into a wedge-shaped 1970s typical styles including a hatchback rear access, and the prototype cars had LC Torana GTR XU-1 mechanical components.

The Holden Torana GTR-X concept is powered by a 3.05-litre Torana GTR XU-1 straight six engine. (Picture form: CarStyling.ru)

The GTR-X looks similar to the iconic sports cars of the 1970s, such as the Maserati Khamsin, Ferrari 308 GT4, Lotus Esprit, and Mazda RX-7, and according to the automaker the 1,043 kg weighted sports car concept capable to run up to a top speed of 210 kph.

The Holden Torana GTR-X concept had a fibreglass body appeared into a wedge-shaped 1970s typical styles including a hatchback rear access. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

Besides having a beautiful and simple body made of fiberglass, and this is the first car made by Holden to be fitted with four-wheel disc brakes. However, unlike the previous Hurricane concept car also made by this Australian manufacturer, the GTR-X concept is still potentially feasible for production.

The Australian automaker making a lot of promotional materials during the development time of the Holden Torana GTR-X concept to attarct potential customers. (Picture form: ClassicDriver)

At that time Holden made three prototypes and seemed serious enough to work on the project by making a lot of promotional materials to attract potential customers if the car was produced. However, in the end, the domestic market was deemed too small to cover all the expenses associated with the car's production process.

If it was produced, the shapely Australian-made sports car might have made quite a rival for the likes of the Datsun 240Z. Today, one of the Torana GTR-X sports car can be found at the Holden's headquarter in Melbourne,  while another two prototypes were destroyed.😞 Wanna see the Holden retro magic touch named the 'EFIJY Concept' *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CLASSICDRIVER | WIKIPEDIA | MANOFMANY | CARSTYLING.RU ]

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