The Ford Torino was launched in 1968 as part of the Ford Fairlane family. Fairlane sales were falling and Ford decided that putting a new name on a car of the same quality would help sales. This decision turned out to be correct with huge sales of the Ford Torino and would ultimately replace the Ford Fairlane with an updated brand of beauty, power and style.

Production of the Ford Torino would run from 1968 to 1976. The initial Torino was a larger vehicle than the Ford Fairlane from the previous year. The roofline for the fastback was a completely new concept for the Fairlane stable, as well as for the new two-door hardtop.

From the beginning, the Torino was built with a lot of power and comfort in mind. V8 engines came standard starting with the small block 302 through the big block 390 and 428 Cobra Jet launched in 1969. Initially, the 1968 Torino was available in a two-door fastback, two- or four-door hardtop, station wagon and convertible. two-door. .

The Torino GT was the updated Torino in 1968 with a standard decal stripe on the body, stylish steel wheels, wide oval sport tires, and a standard-equipment V-8 engine. These were available with a four-speed manual gearbox.

The body style underwent a complete change for 1970 and 1971 with a lower, wider and longer body. The Ford Torino in 1970 also saw the introduction of the 351 engines in the Torino, as well as the 429 with 360 BHP.

The Ford Torino GT was now also available with a Hurst four-speed manual gearbox, sport rear window slats, tape-style tachometer, three-spoke steering wheel, high-back bucket seats, and 15-inch Magnum 500 chrome wheels. In addition, the Ford Torino GT now also had the option of hidden headlights and the side stripes were redesigned in various colors, but only as an option.

Again in 1972, the Ford Torino was redesigned with the front fenders with a more rounded profile. The rear bumper was much larger and now housed the taillights. The front grill was also redesigned and resembled the Cobra. The two-door fastback now had a lower roofline, while the four-door hardtop roofline was now much rounder.

In 1975, the Ford Torino saw changes to the standard equipment package. The changes included power steering as standard.

The 1976 model year saw no major changes to the Torino lineup, in fact the biggest change was the discontinuation of the Gran Torino Sport. Optional extras included an electric trunk release, automatic parking brake release, and Opera windows and landau roofs were now available as optional extras for all 2-door models.

The Ford Torino is perhaps best known for its appearance on the popular television series Starsky & Hutch and, more recently, in the Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino.