Oldsmobile Toronado (276)The Oldsmobile Toronado, a luxurious American muscle car renowned for its V8 powered front wheel drive, was an irresistible subject for Corgi, who initially released it in 1967 as Corgi 264. This was only a year after the actual car was launched, Corgi keen to make inroads into the American market by building a collection that appealled to those on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1968 Corgi updated the tooling to allow for the fitting of Golden Jacks

Painstakingly reproduced from scratch

Oldsmobile Toronado

With classic Corgi spun hubs and Glidamatic suspension

a driver figure in racing overalls and helmet

making Corgi 480 something of a rarity – especially when accompanied by its original box

The model was available in only white but the canopy came in a number of variations

Chief among them were opening doors

the Austin A60 ‘De Luxe Saloon’ Motor School Car featured a red wheel on its roof that enabled the model to steer

with a much smaller number in a simpler ‘plain’ gold – now highly sought after

Despite being based on an early Corgi tooling (from 1962)

it is uncertain which

a Guy Arab II 5LW