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There are several movies named after the car that feature them. Clint Eastwood’s 2008 Gran Torino is one of the films featuring a Ford Gran Torino, but more of a drama of family and interpersonal relationships.
Updated December 2022: When Gran Torino first hit theaters 14 years ago, reviving interest in the mid-size muscle car. What many don’t know, however, is the remarkable story behind the movie car itself. We have updated this article with the latest information so Gran Torino fans can revisit the true star of the film—the Gran Torino Sport—and the fascinating backstory surrounding it.
the movie, Gran Torino, is good. The car, however, is great. It’s a dark green Ford Gran Torino Sport driven by Clint Eastwood’s character, Walt Kowalski. So let’s talk about this particular Gran Torino and its origins and how it became the star of a Warner Bros movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Where the car came from and where it is now almost makes a story as good as the movie it’s named after.
Here’s what happened to the 1972 Ford Gran Torino driven by Clint Eastwood in the 2008 movie Gran Torino.
The Movie And The Car: Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who is initially identified as a racist but soon forms a bond with his neighbors, the Hmong family, and one of the teenagers, Thao. The bond between the recently widowed Kowalski and Thao is formed when Thao tries to steal Kowalski’s 1972 Gran Torino Sport after coming under pressure from a local gang.
The film is an interpersonal drama that is very beautiful. While we can’t call it a car movie, there’s enough of the Gran Torino in it to make us stare at it for a long time and admire it. When the Ford Torino hit the market in 1968, it was the top trim of the Fairlane before moving to become an independent nameplate.
In 1972, Ford focused on the Torino and redesigned it in three trims: Torino, Gran Torino, and Gran Torino Sport, making it a 500,000-selling success. The car in the film is the Gran Torino Sport from 1972, one of 92,033 made for that year. Coke-bottle styling and dark-metallic green, it’s the top-of-the-line model with Ford’s “hot motor,” aka the 5.7-liter Cobra-Jet V8 with a four-barrel carburetor. With a 300-horsepower output, the Gran Torino Sport flies from 0-60 mph in under seven seconds. It held its own against many muscle cars of the time, although over time, the Torino aged a lot and lost most of its parts. classic car value.
The movie car also includes the Ram Air Induction package with a functional air scoop and split twin exhaust. The Magnum 500 wheels with Goodrich radials and the gold laser stripes with the black vinyl top make it one of the most memorable movie cars of all time, although we also remember the red Torino in Starsky and Hutch.
How Did Warner Bros Acquire the Ford Classic?
Unlike many movies and series where the car is often faked from the inside out, this Gran Torino Sport is the real deal. Eastwood’s staff saw it listed on eBay by a classic car dealer. Former owner Jim Craig had no idea the car was about to star in a movie. He bought it as a barn find in 2000, returning it five years later. In 2007, Craig sold it to a classic car dealer in Utah, and this is where Warner Bros got their car.
The car was in such good condition that all the studio needed to do was re-chrome the bumpers, and it was ready to go. After the film’s production ended, Eastwood bought it for personal use, though it now stands at the Warner Bros Studios Picture Car Museum in California. But there is also a backstory to this car.
Original Owner Reunited with Gran Torino
the movie, Gran Torino, was a huge success, grossing around $269 million worldwide. Enough that even Dave Beckett, from Monett, Missouri, wanted to see it, even though he wasn’t much of a movie fan. His first car was a Gran Torino, and he remembered it so much that he wanted to see a movie named after it.
It was only when he saw the movie that he realized that this was once his car. When he reads an article in the local papers about Jim Craig and how he owned the car before Warner Bros bought it, Beckett calls Craig and receives confirmation that this car is indeed his car, the same one he drove off the lot in 1972.
At the time, the car wore a dark green vinyl top instead of the black one in the movie, so Craig restored it because green was no longer available. Beckett had this car for over two years before he traded it in for a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. The Gran Torino was later purchased by Paul Norvell and then Ray Dotson, both from Purdy, Missouri, before ending up in a barn where Jim Craig found it in 2000.
When Beckett contacted the car museum at Warner Bros Studios, he had the opportunity to spend some time alone with the car. In fact, he even had the old key that worked, which brought back some memories for him. Beckett is glad he saw the movie, and even more glad they kept the car. And now, he is a Clint Eastwood and Warner Bros fan for life.
Sources: IMDb, Joplin Globe, Hemmings
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