The Thyris Motor Company has been in business since 1934 and was based out of Colorado, making motors and transmissions for other vehicle manufacturers, most notably for General Motors. They continued making motors and transmissions up until 1970, where they were bought by General Motors. General Motors (being the puppet masters they are) forced Thyris Motor Company into full vehicle manufacturing. Which is where the birth of their first vehicles came about.
Introducing the 1970 Hornet 440.
This muscle car/land boat came packed with (hence it’s name) a 440 cui hemispherical v8 motor, and depending on the trim model, it would come married with either a 5 speed manual, or a 3 speed automatic. The Hornet came with double bench seats and power steering, making the car extremely comfortable and “pillowy” to cruise in.
The Hornet never really took off due to it’s terrible gas mileage right near the oil crisis of 1973. Other than the gas mileage, the trunk made sizable accommodations for cargo space, making the Hornet suprisingly practical.
From factory, the 440 cui (7.2L) v8 made roughly 330 hp, and could propel the land boat up to around 180 mph. While stationary however, if you were to rev the motor, it would overheat quickly due to the.. Questionable fans used on the radiator.
Given the design, it clearly shares features with it’s brother, the Dodge Coronet. But, it has it’s own main differences.