LH Torana
March 1974 saw the first completely new Torana body with the arrival of the larger LH series, produced in four door sedan style only. Despite the larger external size, the car was relatively cramped by mid-1970s standards. It resembled other GM products of its generation, notably the Opel Ascona. It was unique in that, following the addition of a 4 cylinder option in May 1974, the same body style was available with a choice of inline 4, inline 6, or vee 8 engines ... specifically, 1.9 litre Opel four, 2.85 and 3.3 litre Holden sixes, and 4.2 and 5.0 litre Holden V8s. The 5.0 litre engine was reserved for the sporting LH Torana SL/R 5000 sedan. A special build derivative of the SL/R 5000 was the Bathurst-intended 'L34 Option', of which only 263 were built, incorporating a unique engine block and other improvements for durability in competition use. The most notable external feature of the L34 was the bolt-on wheel arch extensions, designed to accommodate larger racing rims and tyres. The L34 proved to be fast and successful, yet fragile, in Australian touring car racing. It was eventually superseded by the evolutionary A9X option made available in the LX Torana series in 1977. The LH Torana in L34 form won the famed Bathurst 1000 touring car race with Peter Brock & Brian Sampson in 1975 and with Bob Morris & John Fitzpatrick in 1976. A wagon body of the LH Torana was experimented with in prototype form, but it never reached production. Overall, a total of 70,184 LH Torana's were built.
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