In June 1972, a journalist ruined everything.

Evan Green wrote a piece for The Sun-Herald exposing how Australia's Big Three - Ford, Holden, and Chrysler - were plotting to build street-legal 250+ km/h "supercars".

Under the homologation rules of the game, automakers had to build and sell at least 200 road-going versions of their race cars to compete at Bathurst. 

See the legendary Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III for details - the world's fastest four-door sedan of its time. The LC Tonora GTR XU-1 from Holden and Valiant Charger R/T from Chrysler followed shortly afterwards too.

But when the NSW Government picked up the paper from their proverbial front porch, they were horrified.

Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1. Photo: Wikimedia.

NSW Transport Minister at the time, Milton Morris, branded the cars "bullets on wheels", basically accusing carmakers of placing semi-automatics into the hands of the young populace by making them.

There were calls for a national ban on any car with a top speed of over 130 mph (209 km/h), but the real blow came from the Federal Government as a threat along the lines of "build these supercars, and all your government fleet contracts 'go away'."

So in six days, without a single crash, mechanical failure, or product recall, Australia's supercar programs were dead. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sports (CAMS) scrapped the homologation rule, and Holden, Ford and Chrysler all withdrew.

Or so the politicians thought.

1972 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger 770 SE. Photo: Wikimedia.

The underground supercars

Car makers got clever. Ford quietly slipped race parts into standard XA GTs, while Chrysler detuned its imported V8, paired it with an automatic, and wrapped it in the body of the Charger 770 Special Edition luxury cruiser.

But Holden faced a massive hurdle. To beat Ford's V8 Falcons on the mountain, they needed a heavy-duty canvas. Without attracting too much attention from the bureaucracy.

Enter the 1974 LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34.

Heavily reworked by Aussie company Repco Engine Developments - which had F1 engines on their CV - the L34’s 308ci V8 featured a heavy-duty engine block, forged rods, a high-strength crankshaft, twin-point ignition, and those iconic bolt-on fibreglass wheel arch flares. All very much things that could be confused with a "supercar".

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Accordingly, it romped in the wins on the track - especially in the hands of the legendary Peter Brock (even if one wrong move into the gravel could cost the car its fragile diff).

But on the road? That was bit more secretive.

Because of the lingering political sensitivity caused by the "Supercar Scare", Holden launched the L34 with zero advertising. No TV ads, no newspaper spreads, no scantily-clad women draped over the bonnet (it was the '70s after all). Every sale required manual approval from a General Motors/Holden zone manager. 

At over $6,000 - a steep $2,194 premium over a standard SL/R 5000 - it was also a small fortune at the time.

A poster celebrating Peter Brock's 1974 win. Photo: LH Torana SL/R 5000-L34 Option, Facebook.

Naturally, the secrecy spawned a rumour Holden had struck a backdoor deal with the government. To prevent just anyone from buying them - and teens wrapping them around trees, other cars, and more - you could allegedly only buy an L34 if you held a valid CAMS competitive racing licence.

To test the theory, Wheels magazine sent an undercover journalist to four Sydney Holden dealerships to see how a member of the public would go. And he got the same line from every dealer: No licence, no car. So Wheels declared the rumour a proven fact.

The paper tiger

However, while Holden’s corporate rule was real, how it played out on showroom floors was a totally different story.

Holden effectively hid behind the CAMS requirement, so if a politician ever decided to hit it with the "bullets-on-wheels" bludgeon, Holden could point to its own rule for protection.

In reality, it was a paper tiger. Getting a basic CAMS licence in 1974 wasn't hard, so wealthy street enthusiasts simply paid a small fee, joined a car club, grabbed their licence, and handed it to the salesman. 

A Holden dealership in Elizabeth, South Australia, circa 1975. Photo: Old Motor Garages, Car Dealerships & Service Stations of Australia & NZ, Facebook.

And, if you happened to be a mate of the dealer, it was even easier - the requirements could be mysteriously waived by way of a letter to the zone manager describing you as a "suitable enthusiast".

By the end, there was also an inventory problem. 

Holden built only 263 units of the Torana SL/R 5000 L34 to clear homologation, but once all the genuine racers got theirs, the astronomical price tag meant they sat around gathering dust. Desperate to free up dealership capital, dealers abandoned the rulebook altogether and sold the remaining stock to anyone who rocked up with the cash.

Owning the legend today

All of this means genuine L34 Toranas are incredibly hard to come by today. And expensive, generally fetching between $160,000 and $350,000.

Which is exactly where high-quality Tribute editions come in. These are designed to deliver all the same five senses of drama and legendary Bathurst provenance for a fraction of the cost - usually between $55,000 and $120,000 - without any of the racking guilt of putting an irreplaceable museum piece on the road.

As part of our special Everything Holden auction, we are currently offering a stunning 1974 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 Tribute finished in a sizzling Chrome Yellow and Black two-tone combination.

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The paint and bodywork were completed by restoration master Merv Hardimon of Classic Auto Refinishing in Newcastle, who has a CV as long as his arm including awards at Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este.

Inside, it comes fitted with Recaro bucket seats, custom roulette-wheel inspired roof trim, a SAAS steering wheel, integrated centre console gauges, new carpet, and an Alpine audio system. Under the bonnet sits the iconic 5.0-litre V8, showing 233,681 km on the clock. 

So - and keep this bit to yourself - it's still very much a supercar.

Check out the full listing here. Bids close Wednesday, 5 August.