Clubs: 2013 Toranafest!

By: Glenn Torrens, Photography by: Glenn Torrens

Date: 15.11.2013

A diverse scene of Toranas, with dead-stock originals sharing space with street machines and ex-race cars...

Clubs: 2013 Toranafest!

2013 Torana Fest

One week after the first-ever All-Ford Day, Newcastle again reverberated to the throb of classic Aussie muscle cars for the 20th staging of Toranafest.

Attracting clubs and enthusiasts from all over the country, this year’s Toranafest was the biggest ever with more than 350 Toranas arriving for the weekend festival.

After a charity dinner on Friday night and 130-car cruise on Saturday afternoon, the pinnacle of the festival was Sunday’s huge display of everything Torana on the Newcastle Foreshore.

Even with planning and almost seamless traffic management (with co-operation from Newcastle police) event personnel had to close the gates at 9.30am as the showed reached capacity.

Reflecting the recent soaring interest and value in original specification Aussie cars, many of the Toranas present were ridgy-didge originals or restored, but with the Torana also being the focus of street machiners’ attention since the mid-1980s, there was plenty of well-modified stuff there, too.

With Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst-winning cred, the LC and LJ and later LH and LX Toranas have always been iconic, but judging by the sensational condition of the cars on display, the last-of-the-line 1978-80 UC sedan and hatch are now being recognised as collectables.

The stockers and hotties were joined by a number of beautifully presented ex-race cars and tributes and several traders’ stands showed their support and tempted the wallets.

The Hunter Valley Torana Club has been the host club and driving force behind the event for two decades, however, it was announced during the presentations that the Newcastle-based event will be taking a break.

The event will return to Newcastle in 2015, possibly taking turns with the similarly-themed Toranarama being established in Queensland for next year.

Hunter Valley Torana Club president Peter Morris wishes to thank Newcastle City Council, Newcastle Police, Shannons, Rare Spares, Holden and all the attendant clubs from NSW, ACT, Qld and Victoria for their support of Toranafest. Toranafest is a supporter of Ronald McDonald House.

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