Ford Falcon GT

The Ford Falcon GT is an automobile produced by Ford Australia from 1967 until 1976 as the performance version of its Falcon model range. Its production was resumed by a joint venture in 1992 and 1997 with Tickford, and then again between 2003 and 2014 with Prodrive, the latter being marketed as the FPV GT & GT-P. The Falcon GT is inextricably linked with the history of Australian sports sedan car production and with the evolution of Australian motor racing.The Falcon GT lineage includes many Bathurst wins and motorsport accolades over its entire production run.

Overview

The GT model was introduced as a performance variant of the Australian Ford Falcon XR series in 1967. They were also offered with the 1968 XT; 1969 XW, 1971 XY, 1972 XA, 1973 XB Falcon ranges. GT-HO ("Handling Option"[1]) versions were released with the XW and XY Falcon series, with were essentially further modified homologation specials for motor racing. An XA series HO was abandoned in the early stage of development due to public pressure in 1972 after an infamous newspaper campaign against excessive top speed.

XR series

The 1967 XR series was a major shift in the evolution of the Falcon, then still being adapted from its American counterpart for Australian release. The car was noticeably larger compared to the XP model range. For the first time, Ford Australia offered a V8 engine on the range, the 289-cubic-inch engine then in use on the Ford Mustang.

The financing by the Australian Police force for certain testing created an opportunity for Ford to take advantage of the option of the powerful V8 engine, with Ford producing the Police Interceptor Pack Falcon which the Falcon GT was built on. Two prototype Police interceptors were given to Victoria Police for evaluation, one for the Mobile Traffic Section, and the other for the Wireless patrol. Both were rejected. Modifications to engine performance and stiffer suspension were suggested and adapted the Falcon GT went into production with the police GT variant economically fitted with Falcon 500 external appearance. Australia Managing Director, Bill Bourke, then introduced the GT, based around the success of GT versions of the Ford Cortina. The Falcon GT would be marketed in the same way as the Cortina GT with the competition arm of Ford Australia preparing production racing cars to race at the Bathurst 500.

A charcoal interior consisting of unique designed seats that were not available on any other model Falcon, wood-grained steering wheel, dash, and matching gear knob with special Stewart-Warner instrumentation. This was in addition to lowering and firming the suspension by 5 cm. Shock absorbers were also upgraded which added to the sporty specification.

The XR GT was available to the public exclusively with a manual transmission and in the exclusive "GT Gold" paint, with a total of 596 units built. A fleet of eight units was produced in "Gallaher Silver" for promotion of the Gallaher tobacco brand, which had a small keyhole in the right-rear quarter panel under one of the taillights that activated an alarm system connected to the doors and boot.[3] A further five units were also finished in a selection of colours at the request of teams to enter them in racing events, with the 1967 Gallaher 500 winning XR GT painted in Ivy Green.

The factory racing team, led by veteran driver/engineer Harry Firth entered two cars, one for himself and Fred Gibson and the other for the Geoghegan brothers, Ian and Leo, though both supplied their own pit crew and each 'team' prepared its own car. After a day-long battle against three Alfa Romeos at Bathurst in 1967, the team emerged with a 1–2 team victory (with Firth and Gibson winning by 11 seconds) which captured the public imagination and sales figures soared. The move forced General Motors-Holden and Chrysler Australia to respond with their own performance editions of their large sedan in 1968 when neither had such vehicles planned, beginning the era of the Australian Falcon GT legend.[4]

XA series

The GT model was continued with the new Australian-designed XA, and for the first time, the GT was available as a two-door hardtop. The GT received unique front fenders with dummy air vents on the leading edges, and a bonnet featuring NACA-style ducts. Purchasers were now offered a larger range of colour combinations, with the GT black-outs on the bonnet and lower edges of the car now available in silver.

GT-HO Phase IV

Ford developed the HO series further with the XA Falcon, and were ready to produce the Phase IV to homologate the car for Group E Series Production Touring Cars racing, including the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500. On Sunday, 25 June 1972, the front page of the Sun-Herald set off a chain of responses from the New South Wales Minister for Transport, Milton Morris, who called for the ban of these supercars just three days after the news article.[10]

On Thursday 29 June, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) announced that the end of the current Group E Series Production Touring Cars regulations, which would be replaced by new Group C regulations for 1973. Group C allowed modified versions of road cars to compete, removing the need for manufactures to develop road-going race specials.

The following Sunday, 2 July, Ford announced the cancellation of the Phase IV program. At this stage, one production car had been sent down the line, and three XA GT sedans were in various stages of construction to Phase IV specs at Ford Special Vehicles, Ford's internal race division. Only one of these cars was ever used in competition, with one sold to rally driver Bruce Hodgson, and eventually was destroyed in a crash in 1981. The car has since been rediscovered and is undergoing restoration. The other two are in the hands of collectors, with the Gibson car in Queensland, while the car intended for Allan Moffat is in Sydney and sold at auction for $2 million in 2018, setting a record for an Australian sport sedan car.[11][12]

The sole production-plated car as the only legitimate Ford factory Phase 4 was not sold until the following year, by Jack Brabham Ford, to a Sydney, Australia-based owner, who then had the car resprayed from its original Calypso Green to Zircon Green. The car went through a number of owners until the current owner had the car restored to factory specifications, in a build documented by an Australian Fords publication.

BA to FG series

After FTE's relative lack of success with its AU series-based T-series models sold between 1999 and 2002, the GT nameplate was revived by Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), a new joint venture between Prodrive and Ford Australia established in 2003. The FPV GT range was thus available with the BA (2002), BF (2006) and FG (2008) series. The FPV model range generally comprised the base GT (whose subsequent derivative GS justified the absence of a Falcon XR8), higher performance and specification GT-P. In 2008, it was expanded with the luxury-oriented variant GT-E, and between 2007 and 2014, the range was also bolstered by various limited editions. Those BF series models included the:[5]

Limited editions based on the FPV FG series included the:[5]

GT "40th Anniversary" (March 2007; 200 sedans, 25 of which were exported to New Zealand) to commemorate the first Falcon GT of 1967; it featured: special interior and colour accents, distinctive 19-inch alloy wheels and "R-Spec" handling package[13]

GT "Cobra" (October 2007; 400 sedans and 100, non-GT, Super Pursuit utes) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original Ford Falcon Cobra; it featured: engine power upgrade from 290-302 kW and 540 Nm of torque, and "R-Spec" handling package[14]

GT "5th Anniversary" (October 2008; 200 sedans) to commemorate FPV's fifth birthday; launched at the Sydney Motor Show it featured: Lightning Strike (silver) or Silhouette (black) exterior paint with unique striping package, special multi-spoke alloy wheels in Alpine Silver, six piston Brembo brakes and a luxury Nudo leather interior.

GT "Black" (August 2011; 125 sedans) unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show[15] it was available only Silhouette and was completely painted in that colour (including alloy wheels, exhaust tips and exterior trims) with new matte black stripes, and was powered by a Boss 335 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine with a maximum power output of 335 kW[16][17]

GT "R-Spec" (August 2012; 350 sedans and 75 utes) unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show,[18] it was primarily available in Silhouette and striking red highlights and a "C" stripe down each side, echoing the 2012 Mustang "302 Boss" Laguna Seca, and featured the above V8 supercharged engine, "R-Spec" handling package plus wider (9-inch) rear wheels and launch control and could be optioned with an upgraded

manufacturer	Ford Australia Tickford Prodrive
model years	1967–1976 1992 1997 2003–2014 (FPV GT)
class	Sports sedan
layout	FR layout

Overview

XR series

XT series

XW series

GT-HO

GT-HO Phase II

XY series

GT-HO Phase III

XA series

GT-HO Phase IV

XB series

EB II and EL series

BA to FG series

Model specifications

Ford

Tickford

FPV

Motorsport

See also

External links

References