PICS: FOUND George Barris Oldsmobile Toronado 67X
JLA
Batmobile, Munster Koach and Drag-u-la fame) to create four custom
Oldsmobile Toronado coupes for the 1967 Canadian Expo. The car you
see above is dubbed Toronado 67X, and according to the seller on
eBay, it is one of the only two cars remaining. The big coupe was
originally gold, but time and poor treatment have turned it a lovely
shade of something other than gold (well, several lovely shades,
actually).
Although the auction has just ended, we thought you'd still enjoy a
glimpse of what the seller calls the "Project car find of a
lifetime" (which might be how long it would take to get it back
together). Structurally, the Olds appears to be sound enough, but you
can forget about the floorboards and the interior (which includes a
wraparound rear couch!). Despite its obvious shortcomings, the car's
provenance has helped it gain an appraisal value of $21,500 (which is
about $15,000 more than a brand new Toronado listed for in 1966). Also
below is a video of the engine running but you hear a lot more wind
than engine.
The car was bid to $7,701 but ultimately failed to meet reserve, so we
expect to see it back up on the ol' eBay block sooner rather than
later. In the meantime, gallery of photos below
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JLA
Remember the
scene when his Billy Brown character kidnaps/carjacks Christina
Ricci's Layla and forces her to drive because he can't work a
manual?
"Would you like to know why I can't drive this kinda car? I'm
used to luxury cars. Have you ever heard of a luxury car? Ever heard
of Cadillac, Cadillac Eldorado? That's what I drive. I drive cars
that shift themselves. My cars shift themselves. The luxury cars,
they shift themselves."
We quote this scene because we think this here particular Oldsmobile
Toronado would appeal to Mr. Brown's predilection for luxury cars. We
mean, just look at that back seat. Incredible, right? Wrap around
leather benches are totally (and sadly) missing from our everyday
automotive experience. And we're pretty sure you could use the
fold-out cocaine shelf to write on, so it's practical, too.
Curiously, we've seen a Barris Toro before ￜ though that one was
dubbed 67X ￜ and although it was in much worse shape, it failed to
meet its reserve at $7,701.
Now, this particular custom Toronado (the story goes that Barris built
four of these for the 1967 Canadian Expo -- only two are known to
survive) is much better shape, having undergone a "complete
frame-up restoration at an astronomical cost." However, $7,701
won't even get you into that amazing drug den back seat. In fact, the
starting bid is $227,770 and the reserve isn't met. Sure, that's a lot
of scratch, but you can really put a price on luxury like this? We're
saying no. Happy bidding!
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