As a fresh face in the design studio, stepping into my first significant project was akin to entering a realm of magic. Sketches, discussions, and sheer imagination coalesced, each element influencing the unfolding narrative of the design. The management’s foresight was particularly striking. They engaged in profound discussions about the design’s trajectory, even in its nascent stages, exhibiting a remarkable trust in its potential to evolve into a solution for a project still veiled in mystery to us designers.
The Toronado Name: Borrowed and Bold
The moniker “Toronado” itself carried an interesting backstory, originating from Chevrolet. Credit for the name goes to Ira Gilford, a designer in Chevrolet Studio #1. During a conversation with his father and uncle, the name emerged, a portmanteau of TORO (Bull) and NADO (Tornado). Initially used for a Chevrolet show car, the name resonated so strongly that when Oldsmobile sought a name for their groundbreaking project, Chevrolet readily relinquished it. “Toronado” was universally lauded as a perfect fit, embodying the power and dynamism of the car it would adorn.
Project E-Car: A Trinity of Innovation
The Oldsmobile Toronado was not conceived in isolation. It was part of the ambitious “E-car” program, a trio of vehicles that also included the Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado. This initiative was groundbreaking in its engineering approach. The chassis was meticulously designed to accommodate both front-wheel drive, intended for the Toronado and Eldorado, and rear-wheel drive for the Riviera. This ingenious design allowed for a strategic blend of shared components and unique elements tailored to each car’s distinct identity.
While each car maintained a unique visual signature thanks to individual sheet metal designs, strategic components were shared to maximize efficiency and cohesion. The windshield, A-pillar, and door side glass were common across all three models. The Toronado and Riviera further shared the roof panel and backlight. Even internal door structures and various underbody panels were standardized. Despite these shared elements, the individual exterior panels ensured that each car retained its distinctive character, with the windshield pillar being perhaps the most subtly visible common element.
Original artwork by Dick Ruzzin, showcasing his vision during the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado design process.
Ferrari’s Influence: Setting the Vision
To crystallize the vision for the then-unnamed E-Car, John Beltz, Oldsmobile’s Chief Engineer, acquired a dark red Ferrari. This choice was deliberate. The Ferrari, a close-coupled coupe accommodating four passengers, embodied the desired size and personal luxury ethos envisioned for the future Oldsmobile. The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 served as a tangible benchmark, suggesting a more compact platform. However, the ultimate need to accommodate the dimensional requirements of all three E-cars led to the adoption of a larger platform than initially envisioned.
Advanced Design #3: Centralizing the Vision
Due to pressing commitments on other projects, the initial design sketches and board drawings were forwarded to Advanced Design #3. This move, orchestrated by Chuck Jordan, served a dual purpose. Firstly, it allowed the program to progress without delay. Secondly, Jordan aimed to benchmark the Toronado design against the Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado, ensuring a cohesive direction for all three models which were at varying stages of development. Initially, a clay model, mirroring the dimensions of the Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, was started, possibly utilizing the platform of the then-current Camaro/Firebird.
Upon its return to the Oldsmobile studio as an incomplete full-size clay model, significant modifications were undertaken. The clay buck was extensively reworked to align with the new, larger E-car platform. This marked the earnest commencement of finalizing the design for production. The task ahead was substantial, requiring a concerted effort to translate the initial vision into a manufacturable reality.
The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera prototypes side-by-side in the Body Development Studio, highlighting the parallel development within the E-car program.
Design Evolution: A Collaborative Masterpiece
While many hands contributed to the Toronado’s final form, primary design credit is rightfully attributed to Don Logerquist. He originated the core theme that underpinned both the initial red rendering and the subsequent car design. Logerquist’s pivotal sketch emerged during the development of an alternative design for the 1965 Oldsmobile B-body cars. Chuck Jordan recognized the potential of this design, particularly the alternate clay model side, and sought the opinion of Irv Rybicki, a former Oldsmobile Chief Designer. Rybicki lauded it as a design ripe for a future “special car” within the Oldsmobile lineup. This endorsement spurred the creation of the red rendering, a collaborative effort involving Dave North, Don Logerquist, and Stan Wilen as advisor. Dave North spearheaded the layout and rendering, while Don Logerquist refined the surface aesthetics.
This approach of proactively seeking design solutions even before program formalization was later adopted by Irv Rybicki, as observed by Ruzzin during his tenure as Chief of Chevrolet #2. Dave North’s rendering, refined with Don Logerquist’s input and Stan Wilen’s guidance, became a crucial blueprint. Stan Wilen championed the distinctive front end, drawing inspiration from the Firebird 3’s thin, horizontal slot. Dick Ruzzin himself shaped the rear, taking cues from the Ferrari GT “Bread Van” race car, incorporating its Kamm-inspired tail and prominent tailpipes. Wilen also guided the rear lamp design, advocating for a low, wide placement above the bumper, harmonizing with the front grille—a solution of elegant simplicity and stark contrast to the rear designs of the Riviera and Eldorado.
The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, a design inspiration for the size and style of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, reflecting the era’s automotive design trends.
Comparing the red rendering to the production Toronado reveals significant departures. Notably absent in the rendering are the pronounced wheel flares, a defining characteristic of the final car. These emerged after Bill Mitchell intervened, eliminating the top line on the rear quarter panel and seamlessly connecting the Kamm-inspired rear to the outboard roof crease—a necessity for compatibility with the shared Riviera roof panel. This adjustment naturally resulted in substantial rear wheel lip flares, extending further to meet the quarter panel surface than their front counterparts. This necessitated a comprehensive revision of the body side section. Closer inspection reveals that the two flares are subtly angled differently, a deliberate adjustment to achieve visual harmony.
The lower bodyside design evolved into a “frame” aesthetic, a design motif favored by Bill Mitchell, as seen in the 1964 Pontiac Tempest/GTO. This element effectively lowered the car’s perceived center of gravity and provided a visual link between the distinctive wheel shapes. Stan Wilen played a crucial role in overseeing and balancing these evolving design elements. Bill Mitchell’s intervention, post the clay model’s return from Advanced Design #3, marked a turning point. By connecting the roofline to the car’s rear, he established a cohesive side plane that unified the prominent wheel arches, front and rear. This masterstroke elevated the design, amplifying its uniqueness. It also integrated the Toronado’s quarter panel line with the shared Riviera roof panel, albeit adding complexity to the execution of that specific area.
A design rendering of the Oldsmobile Toronado, showcasing the initial vision and design direction before further refinements in clay modeling.
Advanced Design #3’s Role: Refinement and Realization
The initial transfer of sketches, scale models, and board drawings to Advanced Design #3 was crucial for initiating the program amidst studio workload constraints. Chuck Jordan’s intention extended to establishing a design benchmark against the concurrently developed Riviera and Eldorado. Upon the clay model’s return in an incomplete state, the Oldsmobile studio focused intently on finalizing the design for production. Considerable effort was required, particularly in refining the front and rear fascias to harmonize with the established side view theme. The initial design, heavily influenced by the red rendering, featured a fender peak extending from the car’s rear into the sail panel. Bill Mitchell’s modifications paved the way for the rear to assume its definitive form.
The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado on display at the Detroit Auto Show, capturing the public’s first glimpse of the revolutionary design and front-wheel-drive system.
Addendum: Echoes of Innovation
Bill Porter, upon learning of Ruzzin’s Toronado memoir, shared a relevant anecdote from his time in Advanced Design during the early 1960s. He recounted a scale model crafted by Les Johnson, featuring a distinctive low body line that swept rearward from the front wheel opening, arched over the skirted rear wheel, and then resumed a horizontal trajectory towards the car’s rear. A pronounced flare accentuated the quarter panel at the apex of this line. Les Johnson tasked Bill Porter with sketching this concept, which subsequently garnered Bill Mitchell’s attention.
This account suggests a parallel design exploration in Advanced Design, addressing similar aesthetic considerations that later resonated in the Oldsmobile studio during the Toronado’s development. Stan Wilen championed the low-line design over the wheel openings to emphasize the wheels as a foundational Oldsmobile design theme. The Toronado’s design theme, grander in scope, initially lacked prominent flares in the red rendering but evolved during the three-dimensional surface development. Ruzzin recalls Don Logerquist’s gray and yellow pastel sketch incorporating these flares.
The Toronado’s design era was characterized by Bill Mitchell’s fervent advocacy for wheel-oriented design solutions. The design building buzzed with activity centered around this theme, mirroring global trends in race car design. The Toronado’s design, a synthesis of unique elements, was conceived and assembled entirely within the Oldsmobile Studio under Stan Wilen’s leadership. The widespread enthusiasm for the design stemmed from its novel elements and its overall design solution, which was remarkably fresh and innovative. While acknowledging potential thematic echoes from prior design explorations within GM, Ruzzin, along with Frank Munoz, Dave North, and Stan Wilen, maintained focus on their studio’s independent development of the Toronado design. Ruzzin recalls a simpler, idealized monocoque theme model with wheel protrusions in Chuck Jordan’s office, distinct from the Toronado’s evolved theme. GM Design, a prolific idea factory, fostered a dynamic environment where cross-pollination of ideas was inherent.
A 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado brochure, showcasing the final production model’s design and features for potential buyers.
—Dick Ruzzin, Junior Creative Designer in Oldsmobile Studio
