Retro, amc, argentina, pininfarina, rambler, renault, rogue

Rambler Rogue? No, Renault Torino!

One of the cars in the above illustration is a '79 Renault Torino, while the other is a '65 Rambler American. Notice any similarities? The story of the Renault Torino isn't just the usual case of a US automaker selling the tooling for an obsolete model to a South American manufacturer, nor was it a simple re-badging of a US model for license-building abroad. No, the Torino is the result of an early chapter in the twisty tale of the Renault-AMC story, which resulted in a unique-to-Argentina vehicle, based on the Rambler American Rogue but with body redesigned by Pininfarina and a Kaiser-designed engine under the hood. The Torino became a legend in Argentina, selling like crazy and having a fair bit of racing success, including a major N rburgring triumph in 1969. Torino production halted in 1982, a dark year for car freaks in Argentina. – Murilee Martin

So What's A Torino? [Rambler Rogue Registry]

Related:
The Go-Anywhere Ford Falcon...From Argentina! [internal]

2:44 PM on Fri Feb 23 2007
By Murilee Martin
2,766 views
9 comments

Comments

combat chuck at 03:15 PM on 02/23/07
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I was in Argentina last month and saw plenty of these around. The owners keep them running like precious works of art. I took a picture of one that was in pretty good shape. I'll have to send the pics in for jalop editor perusal.
newt0 at 07:09 PM on 02/23/07
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I love those Rambler Americans. Actually looking for a decent low-mileage one to add to my stable at the moment.
manosanta at 08:32 PM on 02/23/07
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I grew in Buenos Aires and my uncle's family always bought brand new Torinos. The last one they had was a 1978 Torino TSX was stolen and retrieved over four times. "La sensacion de volar" was the TV and print ad campaign. Nobody has uploaded the old commercials to YouTube yet so if you have please do.

Here is some Torino pRon:

a 1974 - http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/037_ts74_edgardo...

The '78 TSX ad plus

http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Publicidades/aviso_197...
http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/016_tsx78_sebas2...
http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/016_tsx78_sebas5...
http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/016_tsx78_sebas7...
http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/016_tsx78_sebas4...
http://www.geocities.com/andres_t73/Fotos/016_tsx78_sebas1...

Finally two links to Torinos on sale in ARgentina. (I even heard that one was given as a gift to Castro)
http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-26040541-torino-un...
http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-26105688-vendo-cou...
MurileeMartin at 11:09 PM on 02/23/07
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The Torino is actually a close relative of the amazing SC/Rambler, one of the all-time greatest musclecars. Which makes me wonder: SC/Torino?
dculberson at 12:27 AM on 02/24/07
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newt0, if I was looking for one, I think I'd buy this one:

http://columbus.craigslist.org/car/281602661.html

I'm in Columbus, and can check it out for $300 per hour. ;-)
MeMikeYouNot at 01:58 AM on 02/24/07
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My uncle owned one of these Rambler Americans in the 60's and I always thought it was a good looking body style.
newt0 at 09:55 AM on 02/24/07
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Thanks dculberson! I'm just down I-71 in Cincy, so I'll kindly pass on your kind (expensive) offer.

It is a nice looking sedan, but I'm pretty set on a two door, and a buddy is looking for a wagon.
dculberson at 01:59 PM on 02/27/07
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newt0, I know, I was joking; I don't really have time to check out cars for people.. But, you know, if they wanted to pay that, hey!

Good luck in your search!
hitech at 06:41 PM on 06/19/07
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Im in Phoenix Az and I have a Renault Torino 380w 1969 , "el sueno del pibe" , like to see pictures just let me know at partsaz@aol.com Thanks