(first posted 6/6/2017) The IKA/Renault Torino, produced first by Industrias Kaiser Argentina and then by Renault from 1966 to 1982, has become a minor legend in the North American auto enthusiast world and a genuine legend in its home country of Argentina for being what many hoped that Detroit would build: a compact and stylish grand touring car with all-around performance capable of taking on the best from Europe. The body and engine of the humble 1964 Rambler American providing its foundation has only added to its mystique. Paul’s January 2016 profile of this South American classic told its story quite thoroughly, but a spotting on the street in Buenos Aires compels another look.
The Pininfarina restyling of the boxy and plain Rambler American is even more beautiful seen in person than in pictures, helped in this case by a period color that has disappeared today. From its bold four-light front end with rearing-bull badge to its simple and elegant roofline and subtly arched beltline, this small and low-slung coupe looks like it belongs among Alfa Romeos, Lancias, and other classic Italian gran turismos of the 1960s.
This example also has the six-taillight rear styling of the early 1970s, barely visible in this photo. The styling details and color make it look identical to a 1972 Torino listed on Bring a Trailer in 2008 and sold for a mere $6,500, purchased out of Torrance, California by a collector in the Netherlands. I would like to think that a deep-pocketed Argentine later sought out a Southern California-preserved piece of his country’s motoring heritage and returned it to its native country, although this scenario is probably unlikely.
Lest anyone worry from the graffiti and barred windows in the first photo that this Torino was parked in a gritty and dangerous neighborhood, this photo gives an indication that it was actually in one of the most trendy areas of Buenos Aires, the Palermo Soho district that is exactly analogous to New York’s Soho, with art galleries, expensive boutiques, and smart restaurants and cafes along with historic cobblestone streets. The location and the Automobile Club of Argentina (Automovil Club Argentino) badge on the grille indicate that this Torino is owned by a genuine automobile enthusiast and man about town, exactly the sort who would have owned it when new. It is an appropriate setting for this Argentine classic that made a sophisticated grand touring car out of a plain-Jane vehicle from Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Curbside Classic: IKA Torino TS — The Legendary Rambler European South American
Cohort Outtakes: Curtis Perry Postcards from South America
Thanks for this information. I have seen pictures of these cars over the years, recognized them to be Rambler American models, but had no idea as to who remade them into beautiful production vehicles for South America. The Rambler American was a good riding automobile.
The South Americans do know how to sex things up a bit. More than a touch of Sofia Vergera on Aunt Mildred’s ride.
Great find, and a superb example.
Thanks for sharing the pictures. I have always been intrigued by these and very impressed at how much Pininfarina imprived the styling on these cars.
(!) With respect, I disagree.
To me, the very simple (uncluttered) styling of the ’64 American made it one of the best looking cars of its time.
I think Pininfarina did an excellent job with the details, but in the end all they came up with were facias and the dash, for the rest Dick Teague still deserves the most credit.
Thanks also for the pictures. This is the car AMC should have made rather than the Hornet-Gremlin and Pacer. Think of all the money they could have saved going that route as well as selling more cars(hopefully) and more profits rather than losses.
I’d say the car they should have been building instead of the Classic/Rebel/Matador and Ambassador. The American was the core Rambler product, in the one segment where they arguably had an edge on everyone else and they let it wither on the vine as they hopelessly tried matching the big three segment to segment. The Hornet was at least a successor, and the Gremlin was hit considering it’s minimal development. The Pacer flop and continued waste of resources in the intermediate segment did in substantial updates to the Hornet.
But I’m not sure how well AMC would have pulled off the execution, the IKA 6 had no AMC roots whatsoever, so presumably even if the pininfarina front and rear styling were applied, both outside and in, it probably would have remained AMC powered.
AMC probably should have upgraded the 199-232-258 6 cylinder(intro 1964) years earlier with a OHC hemi head. When they finally did a upgrade it was the 4.0 engine which was used until 2006. They were all good, dependable engines with lots of torque but a little short on HP. A well designed OHC hemi head would have done wonders for the stout 7 main bearing 6. I forget exactly what year it was in the mid-late 60’s there was an Indy race car with an AMC 6. Actually the lower end is a lot stronger than the heralded slant 6 with on 4 main bearings. If it could be done in Argentina, no reason why it couldn’t be done here.
The reason is IKA =/= American Motors. The Torino was an Argentinian creation with European influence, Kenosha’s only involvement with it was supplying IKA the body tooling. Anything obviously could have been done with the power of hindsight, but consider just how different the Torino was compared to what was selling in the US at the time – V8s – as great as the Torino was it wasn’t an entirely foreign concept from an American automaker, such as Chevy’s Corvair Monza or even Ford’s Falcon Sprint to lesser extent, and as the Torino was being produced in Argentina the Ponycar essentially made the sporty compact segment obsolete(temporarily) in the states. Something like this may very well have been what AMC should have been producing, but the Rogue was about as best as they could do with the American body from domestic management.
Loco, that IS the car Rambler made, BEFORE the Hornet and Gremlin. The front end is a mild re-design and evolution of the 1964 American. Frankly, I like what IKA and Pininfarina did to the rear fascia.
Let me rephrase that in the context of your post. This is the car AMC should have KEPT making rather than the Hornet-Gremlin and Pacer. Also instead of the Matador-Ambasador line they should have used the ’63-’64 Classic body as a base to mod similar to the IKA Torino. The American was just a smaller Classic. The Classic was the perfect size all around car as far as I am concerned. Carried me and my dad, mom and sister on a couple of two week vacations with all our luggage and an average 18-20 mpg with a V8. The airy greenhouse(shared with the AmericanIKA Torino) with it’s great visibility made the car seem bigger and a lot more cheerful. JMO.
Surprised that IKA spent effort to re-design AMC I6, this the final spec according to Wiki:
Torino 233 engine: (Available Models SE, TS, TSX, GS, ZX)
Bore X Stroke: 84.94mm x 111.125mm
Displacement: 3820 cm3
Top RPM: 5200 RPM
Number of main bearings: 7
Power:
SE: 170 hp at 4500 rpm and 31 mkg at 2500 rpm
TS: 180 hp at 4700 rpm and 31 mkg at 2500 rpm
TSX: 200 hp at 4500 rpm and 33 mkg at 3000 rpm
GS: 215 hp at 4700 rpm and 34 mkg at 3200 rpm (supposedly)
ZX: 200 hp at 4500 rpm and 33 mkg at 3000 rpm
Googled a little bit, 1965 Rambler’s spec said that it weighted 2500lbs. So 200Hp for 2500lbs, with that kind of ratio, I can see why folks back then loved it. In perspective, 1977 Porsche 911 S Targa: 165Hp, 2535 lbs. (https://www.excellence-mag.com/resources/specs/39#.WTcocuv1AdU) or 1986 911 Turbo: 282Hp, 2976lbs (https://www.excellence-mag.com/resources/specs/375#.WTco8-v1AdU). OK those were US spec 911s, Torino GS of the same era won’t pass US emission. But hey, who cares about US emission if you are in Latin America?
Back in the days, this thing was faster on straight line than a 911 Targa. Not bad at all.
In non-obsolete units, that’s:
SE: 170 hp at 4500 rpm and 224 lb·ft at 2500 rpm
TS: 180 hp at 4700 rpm and 224 lb·ft at 2500 rpm
TSX: 200 hp at 4500 rpm and 239 lb·ft at 3000 rpm
GS: 215 hp at 4700 rpm and 246 lb·ft at 3200 rpm (supposedly)
ZX: 200 hp at 4500 rpm and 239 lb·ft at 3000 rpm
They didn’t use the AMC 6 cyl, they used a Kaiser.
Quote from Paul Neidermeyer’s article on the car:
“Under the hood, any resemblance to the Rambler is also gone, except for it being an in-line six. The Tornado six was developed by Kaiser Chief Engineer A.C. “Sammy” Sampietro, who had worked in Europe and was familiar with the benefits of a well-breathing hemi-head design as well as aluminum as the material for them. Since Kaiser Jeep could hardly afford a new block, the old 226 CID flathead six as used in Kaiser-Frazer cars and Jeep trucks and wagons was used. This was of course the Continental 226, which goes back well into the pre-war era, and was a small bore, long stroke design with four main bearings.
Sampietro increased the bore slightly, to yield 230 cubic inches, and crowned the venerable block with his alloy hemi-head SOHC cylinder head, driven by a chain in the front. Somewhat oddly, the same camshaft lobes activated both the intakes and exhausts. The Tornado was used in the US starting in 1962, in the Jeep Station wagon and pickup, and then in the all-new 1963 Jeep Wagoneer (and Gladiator trucks). As used in the Jeeps, it was rated at 140 hp @4000 rpm.”
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/cohort-classic-1971-ika-torino-ts-the-legendary-rambler-south-american/
As a former ’64 Rambler American owner, I especially love this car!
Too bad they didn’t sell ’em in the USA. I imagine that they could have sold a few!
http://storm.oldcarmanualproject.com/
cc effect, see a brochure here.
It’s a beauty! Late Rambler Americans were good looking too. Not to forget that the American occupied the lowest step on the AMC ladder. It seems that this model apparently used that problematic AMC front suspension. Any word on the steering ratio? Thanks for the info on the brochure – helpful. Seems likely to be the AMC chassis though.
The front ends of American, Classic & Ambassador were almost identical in construction and parts used. I had 3 ’63 Rambler Classics and a ’62 & ’65 Ambassadors and never had a bit of problem with the front ends as long as they were kept greased. Except for the original factory tie rod ends with no grease fittings in the ’63’s, a part of the early-mid 60’s experiments with lifetime and\or plastic parts(remember Ford’s plastic distributor gear). Everyone was doing it, not just AMC. When I totaled my first ’63 Classic it had 144,000 miles on the original front end except the above mentioned tie rod ends that I replaced at 45,000 miles it was still tight with almost no vibration at 100 miles an hour. In the later years with different auto brands I have replaced ball joints and other suspension and steering parts on them with a lot less miles. The secret to any cars longevity is care and regular maintenance. The first ’63 I owned was in the family since new, purchased by my father and regularly maintained by him and later me.
Unlike the larger Rambler models which had grease fittings on the upper trunnions, the American used a “lifetime” sealed rubber bushing. Trunnions would last nearly forever on the Classic and Ambassador as long as they were kept greased. Not so on the American. (Pretty sure the pre-1970 Javelin and AMX also used the American’s front suspension setup.)
As much as we would wish otherwise, I don’t think that Torinoizing the American would have been a big success for AMC in the US. At least not with a six. Not while competing against the V8 pony cars. The most comparable 60’s US car to the Torino is probably the Corvair Spyder/Corsa — a European style performance upgrade to an economy car with good bones. Even without Ralph, the Corsa wasn’t going to get out of niche market territory in the face of the lust for cubic inches that a Mustang or Camaro or Chevelle SS could satisfy.
Beat the pony and muscle cars – not a chance – you are certainly correct there.
A better target audience would have been the (many) folks who wanted a European sedan, but could not afford one. They might have lined up outside the AMC stores for this car.
Consider also, it would have cost AMC next to nothing to do it. The engineering and development was already done, and the car was already in production.
It seems like it would have been a worthwhile niche project to me.
Mercury had surprising success with the first generation Capri, which by American standards was a quite thoroughly European car.
A little sex appeal, a little performance, a semblance of reliability and a reasonable price tag will attract buyers. Manufacturers obviously have challenges putting in all four elements, but when they do a little showroom magic occurs.
That niche territory was a huge growth category over the long term.
Don’t forget AM had no presence or marketing chops to sell a sporty car until the AMX, I can’t imagine how the brand famous for legendary “the only race that matters is the human race” quote would know where to start with a OHC variant of the American. Even Pontiac, a brand who truly established its performance image with excellent marketing, never actually had a much of a hit on their hands with their OHC 6 in the land of big pushrod V8s. No way American Motors would have pulled it off, they couldn’t even make a hit out of their 343 powered Rambler Rogue!
As for the Capri, it was a straight up import. The logistics of this happening with the Torino are complicated by the fact that two thirds of it is the same as a product that was produced on the Kenosha assembly line, while the rest is totally unique to Argentina production. It wouldn’t make sense to import batches of cars across the globe if it could be built locally, and if built locally I don’t see American Motors using a Kaiser derived 6, no matter how good it was, when their own I6 was still fresh.
Loaded with OHC, rack and pinion steering, four wheel disk brakes and IRS plus 4 speed would have been one heck of a Rambler… and a moon shot for AMC…..
It would have been one heck of a Torino too, because even those used solid rear axles, rear drums and a steering box.
Sorry, there was a market for a hot six if someone would only make one! V8s were cheaper to produce and hop up, but for real enthusiasts the Falcon Sprint and the Corvair Spyder (and later Corsa) proved that.
So did the Hudson Hornet in the early 1950s. Just ask Hudson’s NASCAR competitors.
Although possibly not a raging success compared to the Mustang, a Torino-ized version of the lowly American hardtop could hardly have done worst in the market than did the dumpy Marlin. Sure wished AMC had simply built their “Torino” rather than the over-grown fastback fish we received.
Such a pretty car. I don’t usually favour 2-doors, and generally I don’t swoon over Italian auto design, but…such a pretty car. And that engine!