Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 76

Thread: What is the skinny on Ford Falcons?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    10,227

    What is the skinny on Ford Falcons?

    I, as an oblivious Canadian, have only read and seen pictures of Falcons. And not read much, as they are not really covered in NA magazines and I don't really have the chance to see them in person. I was just wondering if some Australians / New Zealanders could tell me what story with these cars. I think they are really sweet looking and seem to have decent power (and many different specifications), but it is different observing from the otherside of the world. Are they good to drive, reliable etc? And just how many different options are there for them? I wish they sold them here, as I would like to own one.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    9,465
    Reliable as....many Taxi companies have 500,000km+ Falcons and Commodores....not exactly the most agile cars in the world I suppose but quite powerful and the sporting models are really quite quick....the other Aussie/NZ members will give you more in-depth information i'm sure!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Mid North South Australia
    Posts
    813
    Hey, I bolted some 17's and some decent rubber on my AU and with a bit of fortitude I can get through corners at double or more there 'reccomended' speed.... For 1.7 tonnes of metal, they plenty agile.
    Serial Pest
    05 Forever

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Living the good life in Antarctica.
    Posts
    2,827
    Ford Falcons are the second highest selling car in Australia. They are (obviously) a large sedan, but also come in wagon and utility variants. They have a variety of power options, depending on the model.


    For the base models (XT and Futura) there is the Barra 190 (an inline 6) with 190kW of power. There is an optional E-gas variant of the Barra engine which runs on gas, and an optional V8 (with 230kW).




    For the sports models, being the XR6, XR6 Turbo and XR8, there are threee engines. The XR6 runs on a standard Barra190. The car itself is decked out with sports exteriors/ interiors and suspension.



    The XR6 Turbo is a beast. It builds on the XR6, with the exception that is runs a barra engine coupled to an intercooled turbo (by Garret Turbochargers). It delivers 245kW of power and ample speed. It is, in my opinion, the pick of the range. It is also the fastest.



    The XR8 is the V8, for those who love the sound. It too is a beast, with 260kW of power and builds on the features of the V6's. It is seen as the king of the jungle. It also comes with the distinct bonnet bulge (or for americans, "Hood")



    The other models in the range are the luxury cars. These are the Fairmont and Fairmont Ghia, both running the Barra190 and come with premium everything. The Fairmont Ghia is the ultimate in Luxury.






    As for driving, they handle beautifully. The Premium models come standard with the german ZF 6 speed Auto (as seen in Jaguars, Aston Martins and other Euro luxury brands). The XR6 Turbo handles the best in the range, with the most speed.

    If you go beyond the Falcon performance, you have FPV (Ford Performance Vehicles). They turn Normal Falcons into jets The have a super V8 (290kW) and a mega version of the XR6's Turbo called the F6 Typhoon (with 270kW, 550nm of torque from a V6!!) The Typhoon beats the most expensive V8s at their own game.

    For the information straight from Ford: http://www.ford.com.au/range/falcon/models/

    The Options list:http://www.ford.com.au/global/pdf/ra...ange_specs.pdf

    Ford Performance vehicles: www.fpv.com.au

    Utlilties/ wagons: They are basically the same as the sedans (with slight interior differences)

    Overall, the falcon represents brilliant Value, especially in the performance versions.
    ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Living the good life in Antarctica.
    Posts
    2,827
    Utilities:









    More random Falcon images:

    (XT and XR8)


    (XR8)


    (Championship winning Falcon V8 Supercar)
    Last edited by adrenaline; 10-13-2006 at 10:38 PM.
    ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Living the good life in Antarctica.
    Posts
    2,827
    FPV

    GT:



    GT-P



    Pursuit:



    Typhoon:

    ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    brisbane - sub-tropical land of mangoes
    Posts
    16,251
    my uncle has a 2004 XR6 turbo with light mods. i nicked the keys off him once and subsequently scared the crap out of myself on a rainy day.
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    6,534
    "(with 270kW, 550nm of torque from a V6!!) "

    To clarify, the Barra is an I6, not a V6. 4.0l. The V8 is.. 5.4l I think.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Australia.
    Posts
    12,833
    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy
    I, as an oblivious Canadian, have only read and seen pictures of Falcons. And not read much, as they are not really covered in NA magazines and I don't really have the chance to see them in person. I was just wondering if some Australians / New Zealanders could tell me what story with these cars. I think they are really sweet looking and seem to have decent power (and many different specifications), but it is different observing from the otherside of the world. Are they good to drive, reliable etc? And just how many different options are there for them? I wish they sold them here, as I would like to own one.
    Think of this, Anything you won't in a car you can have, It's very unique in Australia to have cars such as we have.
    You got the everyday car family, then the sporty family car, Then the high powered models that can still be used as a family car it's very unique.
    Prices are very good when compared to around the world, What they do is 2nd to none.

    What everyone overseas Miss's out on we get
    "Just a matter of time i suppose"

    "The elevator is broke, So why don't you test it out"

    "I'm not trapped in here with all of you, Your all trapped in here with me"

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Living the good life in Antarctica.
    Posts
    2,827
    Quote Originally Posted by pimento
    "(with 270kW, 550nm of torque from a V6!!) "

    To clarify, the Barra is an I6, not a V6. 4.0l. The V8 is.. 5.4l I think.
    Oops, I did mention earlier that it was an inline 6. By V6 I meant to say 6 cylinder
    ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    Quote Originally Posted by SlickHolden
    Think of this, Anything you won't in a car you can have, It's very unique in Australia to have cars such as we have.
    You got the everyday car family, then the sporty family car, Then the high powered models that can still be used as a family car it's very unique.
    Prices are very good when compared to around the world, What they do is 2nd to none.

    What everyone overseas Miss's out on we get
    It's a shame Ford won't let us have any of these. Wonder why? They could sell these in North America for sure. The styling is appealing, muscular and not retro at all... love the Pursuit Ute!
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    4,031
    Quote Originally Posted by csl177
    It's a shame Ford won't let us have any of these. Wonder why? They could sell these in North America for sure. The styling is appealing, muscular and not retro at all... love the Pursuit Ute!
    Why would these enjoy a better fate than GTO?

    There was a big clamour for those, until importation, then flopski
    Last edited by nota; 10-14-2006 at 02:40 AM.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    Quote Originally Posted by nota
    Why would these enjoy a better fate than GTO?

    There was a big clamour for those, until importation, then flopski
    Maybe you're right... the GTO was looking good, lotsa press, and then nada. Maybe we like our Escalades and Navigators tooooo much.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Living the good life in Antarctica.
    Posts
    2,827
    The current Falcon can't be exported to the USA as it doesn't support LHD. It's been discussed many times before. The good news is the next generation Falcon will have LHD. In fact the NSW government gave them a grant squarely aimed at LHD development.
    ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    Quote Originally Posted by ADRENALINE
    The current Falcon can't be exported to the USA as it doesn't support LHD. It's been discussed many times before. The good news is the next generation Falcon will have LHD. In fact the NSW government gave them a grant squarely aimed at LHD development.
    It's likely Ford would change the name from Falcon if they ever did bring them here.... our Falcon was always an economy car. The platform was the same as the first Mustang, though. And of course the Sprint version had a 260CI, later a 289 V8, pretty sporty. The last US Falcon was based on the Torino, but only lasted a year or two. 1971 and '72 I think.

    Anyway, the pix of the Oz Fords look great. If they do bring a LHD version to the USA it would be nice to have the option. Nota's probably right though. Ford is having enough trouble here selling what it's got.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Really useful performance listings...
    By Egg Nog in forum Technical forums
    Replies: 59
    Last Post: 04-18-2021, 05:13 PM
  2. unseen ford concept cars
    By Craiben in forum Classic cars
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 12-16-2012, 02:08 AM
  3. GT4 whole car list!!!!
    By Mustang in forum Gaming
    Replies: 247
    Last Post: 07-07-2010, 08:06 AM
  4. Hide-Out Index
    By Sauc3 in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 59
    Last Post: 06-20-2008, 02:43 AM
  5. Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept
    By Matt in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 34
    Last Post: 04-08-2006, 06:50 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •