The GTR is dead
Having only just established the GTR XU-1 name as the very definition of excitement and high performance in its Torana range, Holden was suddenly killing it off. Instead, the General chose to rationalise the LH model designation, starting from the poverty pack S through the ‘Sports/Luxury’ SL and the SL/R, the GTR replacement.
This wasn’t merely an exercise in tidying up the nomenclature, however. The less evocative SL/R nameplate was probably going to attract less scrutiny from insurance companies than anything with the letters GT in it, which meant potentially cheaper premiums; likewise the high-performance Bathurst version might evade unwanted scrutiny from opportunistic politicians if it didn’t go by the name GTR. Let’s remember that the disaster of the Supercar Scare that saw Holden forced to stop production of the V8 LJ XU-1 was happening just as the finishing touches were being applied to the LH.
By late 1972 it had been decided that ‘Torana SL/R’ would effectively be the new Torana GTR, with a higher-spec SL/R XU-2 replacing the LJ XU-1.
But the XU-2 name was also dropped in the end, in part for the same reasons as GTR. And that was only after the XU2 designation had been especially ‘recovered’ in order to maintain the numerical progression from XU1. Remember that ‘XU1’ from the outset was nothing more than GM-H’s internal production option code for the high-performance version of the GTR (for example, Production Option XU3 was in use in both HQ and LJ for the neutral headlining interior trim variation), and became the public model name for the car almost by default. Production Option XU2 had been already been assigned elsewhere within GM-H, to the Bedford truck division, but as it was not being used it was able to be re-assigned to LH for the 5.0-litre V8 engine option on the SL/R. As noted in our extensive L34 feature in AMC issue #15, the decision to drop the XU-2 name was made only late in the piece: XU-2 featured in the engineering, service and parts documentation that was being prepared for the new vehicle program.
A V8 Torana
SL/R 5000. If the intention had been to opt for a more understated name than GTR XU-2, it must be said that there is something a bit grandiose about ‘SL/R 5000’. If nothing else, it leaves one in doubt as to the fact this was a Torana powered by Holden’s 5.0-litre V8.
But the SL/R 5000 turned out not to be the direct successor of the XU-1. That role in essence fell to the mid-1974 L34 version. That, of course, was the car with which Holden went racing (notwithstanding the appearance of SL/R 5000s in the Australian Touring Car Championship – and the fact that Peter Brock clinched the series in one, becoming the only driver ever to win an ATCC using both six-cylinder and V8 power), and the basic blueprint for its touring car racing (and rallying) programme up till mid-1977.
When looking back at both the SL/R 5000 and the L34, it’s pertinent to reflect on the early ‘70s period when these models were conceived. Because for the automotive industry and for motorsport, it was a turbulent time. The LH model range was largely locked
