Welcome to my first thread. In here I will talk you through the history of Chord Automotive. I will divide this history into 9 Chapters, and today I will start with the first one. I entitle it “The Beginning”.
Australia, 1973. One young bloke approaches the government and says that he wants to create a car company. He asks for permissions to build on this terrain he bought. The government gives permission for him to build his factory in the terrain, as long as he contributed with the hiring of local workforce, so that we could help the employed people level rise. This bloke (named Guy Barra) had signed a deal with GM to source him engines to help his company rise during the 70’s so that in the 80’s he could start developing his own. He started in 1974 to raise funds to build the company’s first car. This car was the Toranja, launched in 1976. The Toranja was a compact sedan/compact hatch/weird GT thing that I made, something the likes of the Holden Gemini. It was a bit more expensive, but it had a more modern design and tech. The entry level CL was powered by a revised version of Opel’s CIH engine, displacing 2 Liters of capacity and a single 2 barrel carb. It featured a standard interior with no power-steering and standard safety features. This CIH engine was revised to have a better fuel economy with the loss of some horsepower. The GL version featured, again, a revised version of Opel’s CIH engine, this time with mechanical fuel injection and its 2 Liters of capacity. It featured a standard interior, power-steering and standard safety. The GTi was the top of the line model, with a CIH engine, again with 2 Liters, but this time with a Turbo, since Chord wanted to be one of the pioneers in turbo technology. The GTi has also a standard interior, power-steering and standard safety. Here are some pics of the Chord Toranja:
After the Toranja’s first year on sale, Chord decided that the CIH turbo engine was a success and wanted a piece of the sports car market. So, they created the awesome Chord 2000 Turbo. This one featured the same interior as the GTi trim Toranja, the same suspension components, chassis materials and design philosophy. So, you could say that it was cheap to manufacture. And you would be right.
Here are some pics:
They also launched in 1977 the Chord Nonus, a luxury car for the everyman. The basic CL trim featured a revised 3 Liter CIH Inline 6 engine, with mechanical fuel injection. It featured a premium leather interior, standard safety, and a manual 5-Speed box. The less basic, and top of the line model featured a revised version of the Pontiac V8, the 4.7 Liter version (286). It also has mechanical fuel injection. It has the premium leather interior and a top of the line Pioneer radio system for your tunes. The special edition CoupeSport was based on the GL, but it was way smaller and only had 2-doors. It had the awesome Pontiac engine and the Pioneer radio system.
Here are some pics:
