Gran Torino

The Ford Torino is an intermediate car produced by

the Ford Motor Company for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was initially an upscale version of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane, which Ford produced between 1962 and 1970. After 1968 the Fairlane name was retained for the base models with lower levels of trim from those models which wore the Torino name. During this time, the Torino was considered a subseries to the Fairlane. By 1970 the Torino name had become the primary name for Ford's intermediate, and the Fairlane was now a subseries of the Torino. In 1971 the Fairlane name was dropped altogether and all Ford intermediates were called Torinos. Torino is Italian for the city of Turin, which is considered the Detroit of Italy. This name was one of several originally proposed for the Mustang while in development.

Most Torinos were conventional cars, and generally the most popular models were the 4-door sedans and 4-door hardtops. However, Ford produced some high performance versions of the Torino by fitting them with large powerful engines, such as the and "Cobra-Jet" engines. These cars are classified as muscle cars. Ford also chose the Torino as the base for its NASCAR entrants, and it has a highly successful racing heritage.