Lou Abrahams' Tornado, driven as it almost always was by Ted Gray, was significantly different to the form in which it had contested the 1956 AGP. During 1957, working through contacts at GMH, Abrahams had imported a 260 cu.in. (4.6-litre) Chevrolet Corvette V8 to replace the bored-and-stroked sidevalve Ford V8 with Abrahams' own ohv colt. version which had been the power plant for the Tornado in all its previous appearances. The continuous flow fuel injection system of the Ford based engine was carried over, as was the methanol fuel with its convenient tolerance for mixture variation.

Late in 1957, the Tornado had run the fastest times at a BP-financed Australian land speed record session at Coonabarrabran in NSW; luck and bravery counted as much as sheer speed on this occasion, but the Tornado's performances during 1958 were enough to indicate that the big blue car had the legs of anything else then racing in Australia. All the car needed was reliability gearboxes and driveshafts were continually being uprated to match the power of its Corvette engine.