GRUMETT INDIANA
Weʼre now deep into left-field territory. But if you thought that two-time winner Uruguay would lack an automotive player, youʼd be wrong, and the eloquently named Grumett Indiana is all the evidence you need. Well, almost.
From a distance it could be the real Mccoy, but again weʼve had to bring on a substitute, here a Vauxhall Viva HC Estate, from which the Grumett took its basic design. But will our refs fall for it? Itʼs akin to a schoolboy being swapped for Harry Kane in an under-10s play-off.
But the Grumett was from the same GM family as the Viva. General Motors Uruguay had a unique method of copying Vauxhallʼs designs, but at a far lower cost. For the 1972 Indiana, it took a mould from the new-for-1970 Viva HCʼS body and reproduced it in glassfibre over a tubular frame. The drivetrain and platform were taken from the Opel Kadett B, and not the HCʼS more modern and advanced underpinnings inherited from the HB model. As a consequence, Grumettʼs designer, Daniel Barreto, needed to create a bespoke front grille style with round, rather than rectangular, headlights, bespoke bumpers front and rear, and tail-lights from the Viva HB.
That the Indiana ran 4in-narrower tracks than the Viva made its looks rather challenging, but its tardy performance was a greater issue. After contractor Autopiezas Esposito made the body, it was sent to GM Uruguay where the Kadettʼs 1080cc pushrod engine was installed, making a rather paltry 56bhp at 5600rpm. Suspension was as per the Kadett: independent at the front with coils, and a live axle at the rear. So at least in design, if not execution, it was similar to the Luton car. The Indiana was popular in its home market: 4968 were sold in its two-year life, perhaps helped by GM Uruguayʼs publicity likening its glassfibre construction to that of the Chevrolet Corvette.
Thereʼs no denying the lusty performance of our HC subʼs 1800cc slant-four, but imagine the same car with 50% less power and a rather clunky chassis, and itʼs hard to get excited for Uruguayʼs prospects. As it stands, the Grumett (aka Viva) conforms to the ʼ70s GM template: a well-equipped cabin, sound ergonomics, a torquey engine, a long-throw gearshift and a chassis set up for comfort rather than handling prowess. Itʼs not a large car, but it lopes along, happiest in a straight line. Worse still, if you were to imagine its monocoque body being replaced by a glassfibre shell over a steel frame, with all the structural integrity that would lose, then it may well be game over for the Grumett.
FACTFILE
Sold/number built 1972-’74/4968
Engine all-iron, ohv 1080cc ‘four’, single Solex carburettor
Max power 56bhp @ 5600rpm
Max torque 63lb ft @ 2800-3600rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
Weight 1922Ib (872kg)
0-60mph n/a
Top speed n/a Mpg n/a
Price new n/a Now n/a