The car in Clint Eastwood’s 2008 film Gran Torino is a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport two-door SportsRoof. That is the fastback, body code 63R, not the formal hardtop. The colour is Dark Green Metallic, Ford code 4Q, with a gold laser stripe, a black vinyl roof, a hood scoop and Magnum 500 wheels. Eastwood produced the film, directed it, and played Walt Kowalski. It was shot around Detroit, including Highland Park.
The engine is the part people invent. The bay is barely on screen, and no published build sheet ties one VIN to the picture car. A 351 Cleveland is the usual claim. A 1972 Sport could also leave the line with a 400 or a 429. The only engine offered with a four-speed was the Q-code 351 Cobra Jet. Until a door plate says Q, that rating stays in the option list, not on this car.
1972 Gran Torino Sport Specifications
The body and the paint are visible. The power figures are the 1972 net ratings for the engines Ford offered that year. They are not a dyno sheet for the prop.
| Specification | Gran Torino screen car |
|---|---|
| Film | Gran Torino, Warner Bros., 2008 |
| Walt Kowalski | Clint Eastwood, who also produced and directed |
| Model year | 1972 |
| Body | Gran Torino Sport SportsRoof, two-door fastback, code 63R |
| Paint | Dark Green Metallic, code 4Q |
| Stripe and roof | Gold laser stripe, black vinyl roof, hood scoop, Magnum 500 wheels |
| Architecture | 1972 redesign, body-on-frame, rear-wheel drive |
| 351 Cleveland 2V | 161 hp net. Automatic only |
| 400 2V | 168 hp net. Automatic only |
| 351 Cobra Jet, Q-code | 248 hp and 299 lb-ft, 8.6:1. The only 1972 Torino engine offered with a four-speed and dual exhaust |
| 429, N-code | 205 hp and 322 lb-ft. Automatic only |
| SportsRoof production | 60,794 Gran Torino Sport fastbacks in 1972 |
| Sport hardtop | 31,239. A different body. Do not add it to the fastback and call the sum a SportsRoof |
A New Torino, and a Quiet Engine Bay
Ford redesigned the Torino for 1972. The line split into Torino, Gran Torino and Gran Torino Sport, on a new body-on-frame chassis. The face is the one people remember: a wide egg-crate grille, quad headlights, a long hood and a short deck. It sold. The whole 1972 Torino family was the best seller in its class, close to half a million cars. Across the Torino and Gran Torino run through 1976, before the name gave way to the LTD II, the total is above 1.1 million.
The Sport was the top of that line, and it came as two bodies. Code 63R is the SportsRoof fastback. Code 65R is the two-door hardtop. Walt’s car is the fastback. You can see the roof fall in one line to the tail, the vinyl cover, and the laser stripe that Ford offered in gold on Dark Green Metallic. A green vinyl roof was also legal on 4Q. The film car wears black.
Net horsepower had already arrived. The numbers on a 1972 window sticker are not the gross numbers of 1970. Hemmings’ published net ratings for the year put the 351 Cleveland two-barrel at 161 hp, and that engine had to have an automatic. The 400 two-barrel was 168 hp, also automatic. The N-code 429 made 205 hp and 322 lb-ft, and it too was automatic only. The performance exception was the Q-code 351 four-barrel Cobra Jet: 248 hp, 299 lb-ft, 8.6:1 compression, four-bolt mains, and the only Torino engine that year with dual exhaust and a four-speed.
Marti Auto Works records, as reported with those option counts, put 2,091 SportsRoofs out the door with the Cobra Jet and the four-speed. That is a scarce car. It is also a specific car. Street Muscle and the on-screen write-ups that follow it say the movie engine is a 351 Cleveland. A later note from people who looked in the bay claimed a two-barrel Cleveland with Cobra Jet heads. Neither sentence is a Marti report. The hood opens for a moment. That is not a build sheet.
60,794 Fastbacks, Not 92,033
One widely copied sentence says the movie car is one of 92,033 Gran Torino Sport two-door fastbacks. The 92,033 is real as an addition. It is the Sport fastbacks plus the Sport hardtops. The split that matches the body codes is 60,794 SportsRoofs and 31,239 hardtops. Use 60,794 when the question is “how many cars look like Walt’s.” Use the sum only when the question is “how many 1972 Gran Torino Sports, both roofs.” The plain Gran Torino two-door hardtop, with no Sport package, outsold the Sport on its own. Buyers wanted the quiet one.
There is no honest current price on this page. A 4Q SportsRoof with papers, a documented Q-code and the four-speed is a different object from a driver-quality 351 automatic in the same paint. The film did not publish a VIN, so a listing that says “the Gran Torino car” still has to show the door plate.
Not the Fast & Furious Car
A green 1972 Gran Torino also appears in Fast & Furious, the car tied to Fenix Rise. Same year, same fastback idea, a different prop and a different story. Do not merge the auctions. Eastwood’s car is the one with the black vinyl roof, the gold stripe and a man who will not sell it to the neighbourhood. The other green car is a chase car.
Batman Garage Verdict
Buy the shape you can see: 1972 Gran Torino Sport, SportsRoof, Dark Green Metallic 4Q, black vinyl, gold stripe, Magnum 500s. Do not buy a horsepower number the film never showed. If the four-speed and the Cobra Jet matter, they have to be on the plate. The other film cars beside this one are Knight Rider’s 1982 Trans Am and the Hangover Mercedes, which is a 220SE Cabriolet and not a 600 Pullman.
Sources
- Street Muscle — 1972 redesign, Dark Green Metallic 4Q, the film car as a Sport fastback. Their 92,033 figure mixes fastback and hardtop
- HotCars, citing the production split — 60,794 SportsRoofs, 31,239 Sport hardtops, Q-code 248 hp, four-speed only on the Cobra Jet
- Ford-Torino.de, 1972 data plate — body 63R SportsRoof, colour 4Q Dark Green Metallic, black vinyl roof available on every exterior
- Hemmings net ratings for the 1972 engines — 351 2V 161 hp, 400 2V 168 hp, 351 CJ 248 hp, 429 205 hp
Frequently Asked Questions
What year is the car in Gran Torino?
1972. Clint Eastwood’s 2008 Warner Bros. film uses a Ford Gran Torino Sport two-door SportsRoof, the fastback, body code 63R. Eastwood produced the film, directed it, and played Walt Kowalski. It was shot in the Detroit area.
What colour is the Gran Torino movie car?
Dark Green Metallic, Ford paint code 4Q, with a gold laser stripe, a black vinyl roof, a hood scoop and Magnum 500 wheels. Code 4Q is a real 1972 Torino colour. A green vinyl roof was also available on 4Q. The screen car’s roof is black.
What engine is in the movie Gran Torino?
The engine bay is only glimpsed, and no build sheet for the picture car has been published. Film write-ups usually say 351 Cleveland. A 1972 Gran Torino could also be a 400 or a 429. The only engine that could be ordered with a four-speed was the Q-code 351 Cobra Jet, rated at 248 hp and 299 lb-ft. Do not stamp that rating on the movie car unless a door plate says so.
How many 1972 Gran Torino Sports were built?
The SportsRoof fastback and the formal hardtop are different cars. Published production splits for 1972 put the Gran Torino Sport SportsRoof at 60,794 and the Sport hardtop at 31,239. Added together that is about 92,000 Sport cars. Some film articles call all 92,033 of them fastbacks. The screen car is the SportsRoof, so the fastback count is the one that applies.
Is the Fast and Furious Gran Torino the same car?
No. Fast & Furious also used a green 1972 Gran Torino, the car associated with Fenix Rise. It is a different picture car from Walt Kowalski’s Sport in the 2008 Clint Eastwood film. Same model year, same body idea, not the same prop.
