1966 Oldsmobile Toronado Deluxe â?" 425ci V8, Front-Wheel Drive, 2025 National Autorama Class Winner Why This Car Is Special The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado Deluxe is one of the most technically significant American cars of the postwar era. When Oldsmobile introduced the Toronado for the 1966 model year, it became the first American front-wheel-drive car in over three decades â?" the first since the Cord 810 of 1936. That alone would have earned it a place in history. But the engineering team at Oldsmobile went further, pairing the front-wheel-drive system with a 425 cubic inch V8 producing 385 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. To route that much power through the front wheels required an entirely new drivetrain architecture.
