Almost a year ago, I wrote an article about The Chats’ song “6L GTR.” The song was fast, catchy, and all-out Aussie. One thing I thought I’d solved was the mystery of what exactly this 6-liter GTR was, determining that the car in question was a 1973 Holden Torana GTR with an LS-swap because at face value, a Holden Torana is not a “big flashy fancy car,” but can be turned into a 6-liter GTR easily because of the size of the engine bay. After doing all my research into every car to ever wear the “GTR” moniker, I thought this would be the end of this tale.
Not a month after this article went live, The Chats hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit under the indieheads subreddit. Seeing this as my one and only chance to get a real answer as to what exactly the 6-liter GTR was from the very man who wrote the song, Eamon Sandwith, I asked if “6L GTR” is about the Holden Torana GTR, citing my article about the song as the reason for why I was curious. After this, I waited on my screen for what seemed like an eternity for him to respond. After about an hour of waiting, I called it quits and head to work, deciding to check again when I got home to see if he’d responded.
As it would turn out, I ended up forgetting to check my Reddit for several days until one day, getting back on the website for an entirely unrelated reason, I saw that I had a new notification from none other than Eamon Sandwith. It was finally time. Was it a Holden Torana? Was it something else entirely?
There we have it. I theorized in my article that maybe it doesn’t exist at all, and it appears it doesn’t. I did get the manufacturer right, although I at least expected the car to be a GTR.
The Chats will be playing the UK and Ireland for a while, but you can catch them at the Vic Theater this October in Chicago, and maybe bring a real GTR with you.
