[1]Image: Motortopia.com
It’s difficult not to get caught up in the nostalgia found in these Car and Track films. As we look back with fond memories, these reels were filmed using brand new machines straight out of Detroit. It’s a pretty sobering thought. This time around, host Bud Lindemann narrates the review on the then-new ’69 Ford 428 Cobra Jet-equipped Torino.
The very same car that annoyed the Dodge boys and their winged wonders, the 428 CJ Torinos played all sorts of hell on the high banked tracks of NASCAR during this season, and rightfully earned all the accolades that the big intermediates received over the years.
Bud quickly christens the Torino a “supercar;” and while we typically use that term for mid-engined European low-slung machines, Car and Track uses the term endearingly, noting it’s prowess on nearly every evaluation, being acceleration, handling, braking and general ride.
The Cobra Jets were aimed at spoiling the Plymouth Road Runner’s Motor Trend’s “Car of The Year” award, the cartoony pre-production Cobra Jet fender decals expressly declaring this.The production tags were a little more subdued, which to us, was disappointing. The big Cobra Jet 428 cranked out 335 ponies and 445 ft. lbs. of torque thanks in part to its functional hood scoop.
The video isn’t the longest in the Car and Track archive, but it is a good watch.