Glenn Torrens
A life-long car nut, Glenn Torrens (who usually answers to ‘GT’) has been writing about cars and the lifestyle around them since a photo shoot with his 1956 VW Beetle - restored and modified at home while training as a high school teacher - led to a role as a motoring writer. Six years at Street Machine fuelled his passion for performance cars - especially Aussie ones – and inspired him to conceive and develop Australian Muscle Car magazine. Glenn has contributed to many old-school Australian motoring titles such as WHEELS, Unique Cars and 4x4 Australia and is thrilled to be involved as writer and presenter for Australia’s new premium on-line Retro Rides.
Glenn remains a hands-on classic car enthusiast with project cars as diverse as a 1990 Mazda MX-5, 1989 Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD, a pair of VW Beetle motorsport cars, a Ford Falcon and several Holden Commodores… and the happy little blue ’56 VW Bug where things all began.
Latest articles
Retro Rides Presents Ford Falcon: How the John Goss Special was created to boost slow sales of the Hardtop V8
Ford created the John Goss Special, named in honour of the 1974 Bathurst winner, to help boost slow sales of its Falcon Hardtop V8.
Retro Rides Presents Ford Falcon: The GT Hardtop's Aussie Motorsport Prominence
The Falcon GT Hardtop arrived on Aussie racetracks in 1973, winning the Great Race on its first attempt and stamping its prominence on Aussie motorsport history.
Retro Rides Presents Ford Falcon: How Fudging the Numbers Made the XA Hardtop a Reality
Ford Australia product planners fudged the numbers to make the Falcon XA Hardtop a reality.
Retro Rides Presents Ford Falcon: From a Humble Sedan to a Barnstorming Coupe
The humble Ford Falcon sedan laid the platform for Ford’s barnstorming V8 coupes.
Retro Rides Presents VW Beetle: How Hitler played a role in the development of the original Volkswagen Beetle
From the mind of a maniac to the brilliance of its chief designer, few automobiles have had such tumultuous beginnings as the Volkswagen Beetle.
Retro Rides Presents VW Beetle: How To Spot An ‘Early’ From a ‘Late’ or a ‘Super’.
The Volkswagen Beetle remained the same for decades… or did it? Here’s your crash course in the Beetle family tree, including how to spot an ‘Early’ from a ‘Late’ or a ‘Super’.
Retro Rides Presents VW Beetle: The Kit Cars
How the Volkswagen Beetle’s clever underpinnings created a strong foundation for kit car makers and tuners to work their magic. Over the decades the Volkswagen Beetle has provided the underpinnings for a huge variety of custom and kit cars, proving again and again the versatility of the original design.
Retro Rides Presents VW Beetle- How the Beetle Achieved Cult Status
How the Volkswagen Beetle won friends and influenced people all around the world. Few cars have achieved the cult status of the Volkswagen Beetle. Some pundits will nominate the original Mini, or the Series Land Rovers, or perhaps the long running Ford Mustang. But as undeniably significant as these cars are, none can claim the far-reaching appeal of the delightfully cute, immensely personable an…
Retro Rides Presents: VW Beetle - Australian Assembly Commences at Clayton, Victoria
How the quirky little Volkswagen Beetle emerged from the ruins of post-WW2 Germany to conquer the world. Has any car ever been made, sold and driven in as many places and on as many continents as the Volkswagen Beetle? We’d wager that until relatively recently, the answer is a resounding ‘no’.
Extraordinary Engines: Holden/HSV 215i 5.7-litre
How Holden Special Vehicles stretched the 5.0-litre V8 to 5.7-litres and created an Aussie performance icon. The first factory V8 fitted to a Holden was the imported 307 cubic inch Chevrolet small block that made its debut in the HK range in January 1968. Six months after the HK’s launch Holden debuted its first two-door coupe, the HK Monaro, with an imported 327 cubic inch V8 option on the top-s…