Vauxhall HA Viva

Although not strictly a "Holden Torana" since it wore a Vauxhall badge, the HA-series Viva assembled locally by General Motors Holden (GMH) from 1964 set the template for the original HB Torana series three years later.

A slab-sided, lightweight four-seater two-door sedan, the Viva was promoted as “The GMH Small Car”.

Fitted with a lively 37kW/76Nm 1057cc 1.1-litre OHV four-cylinder mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, the Viva made for a fast and zippy (if not especially dynamic – both suspension ends were leaf springs, the drum brakes weren’t too good and nor was high-speed stability) small car runabout.

The ads claimed 0-60km/h in around 8.1 seconds on the way to 100km/h in 19.9 seconds. The upscale De Luxe added opening rear-side windows.

Back in the days when GMH commanded well over 40 per cent of the new car market, the Viva sold strongly.