To make the car more aerodynamic at high speeds, a sleeker front section (whose design and construction is often attributed to the Holman-Moody race team's shop) was added.

Regular production Fairlanes and Torinos had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel.

The Torino Talladega replaced this nose with one that extended the car's length by about six inches, with a flush-mounted grille on a more aerodynamic front end.

In another well kept secret design move, the rocker panels of the Talladega were reshaped and rolled to allow Ford teams to run their racing cars about an inch closer to the ground while staying within NASCAR rules; this also greatly enhanced the top speed of the car by lowering its center of gravity,[citation needed] and further reducing its wind resistance.

Later in the season, the Boss 429 engine was used by many of the teams, after it had finally been declared "officially homologated" by NASCAR president Bill France.

Chrysler's initial competitor was the Dodge Charger 500, which proved to be aerodynamically inferior to the Talladega,[citation needed] especially on NASCAR's super speedways (tracks of a mile or more in length).

All production Talladegas received the same options with no substitutions including the C6 automatic transmission and Code 9 3.25 ratio conventional rear axle.

Some experts have assumed that this was due to the sheer outrageousness of the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird, with their bolted on huge rear wings and nose cones; as the MOPAR winged cars' prices had eclipsed the far more subtle, and aerodynamically integrated, bodywork of the Ford Torino Talladega and its sibling, the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II.