Autoblog

Report: Ford to give Falcon XR8 and FPV supercharged Coyote V8 to celebrate 50 years

Zach Bowman — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Performance, Ford, Australia, Rumormill

It's a good time to be Australian, kids. Yes, winter has just begun setting in down that way, but rumor has it that Ford has decided to wedge a supercharged version of the Coyote V8 into the nose of the Falcon XR8. Why? Aside from being the kind of awesome we can all get behind, the move is designed to celebrate the model's 50th anniversary.

The 5.0-liter engine already produces over 400 horsepower in its base form, but the Blue Oval may offer up to three supercharged versions, each with more power than the last. This all sounds good to us, but Ford hasn't said one way or the other as to whether the rumors are true or not. We're all for supercharged aluminum V8 engines, even if they're only sold in another hemisphere.

It's easy to see why Ford would want to give the new V8 a little extra PSI to chew on. The Falcon's main rival, the most-excellent Holden Commodore SS, benefits from a 6.0-liter V8 that has no problem churning out 362 horses all day long. We won't call checkmate just yet, though. While the rumors of the blown Coyote are plenty tasty, we'll want to see that supercharger with our own eyes before we call the game.

[Source: Go Auto]

Report: Ford to give Falcon XR8 and FPV supercharged Coyote V8 to celebrate 50 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Say it ain't so: Ford Falcon could go front-wheel drive

Dan Roth — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:28:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Ford, Australia, FPV

"You guys are obsessed with rear wheel drive," Alan Mulally mused to the Australian press after a browbeating about which pair of wheels might propel the Falcon into the future. Try as they might, the Ford Chief would not be pinned down about the chassis architecture of future Falcons, saying only that the choice would be customer driven, and plugging front and all-wheel drive vehicles as "pretty spectacular."

Mulally is right that Ford's global push to put exceptional small cars in showrooms is what the automaker's focus is and should be. The Falcon has long fallen off its sales peak from the halcyon days of two decades ago, and while Mulally agrees that it's "an absolutely dynamite vehicle," small cars in the future will prop up the more niche-y vehicles like the FG Falcon. Mulally went on to say that Australia will serve as an engineering and product development outpost for Ford, and the big-vehicle prowess in Oz will be useful regardless of layout. As Ford pulls its global platforms together, the Ranger and Focus will come at us from Australia, too.

Continue reading Say it ain't so: Ford Falcon could go front-wheel drive

Say it ain't so: Ford Falcon could go front-wheel drive originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Spy Shots: Best pics yet of Ford's future Holden fighters

John Neff — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:36:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Ford

Seemingly overnight the Australian market has become the holy grail for a pair of U.S. auto giants. That's because both General Motors and Ford are considering taking advantage of rear-wheel drive platforms that have prospered on the island continent by exporting them to new markets, including the U.S. GM, of course, has plans to bring its RWD Zeta platform to the States and use it to underpin the new Chevy Camaro, Pontiac G8 and a few other cars that have yet to get the final go-ahead. Ford, meanwhile, is a little behind in that its next generation RWD Falcon sedan has yet to debut. CarAdvice.com.au, however, has been furiously snapping prototypes caught testing, and it just published a trunkful of shots showing prototypes of many Falcon models with less disguise than we've previously seen.

Most notable are shots of the FPV Falcons, which truly do look like birds of prey with their sloped noses, Xenon lamps and a braking/tire/wheel combo that should allow them to easily chase down that next meal. Note the hood bulge visible on many of these mules - wonder what's hiding under there. Also shot were more staid models like the Futura, as well as the XR8, which we feel silly calling "staid".

While GM's Zeta cars are figuratively crossing the oceans as we speak, the Fords appear to be still packing their bags. It's too early to say how the Falcon's platform will be used by Ford in the U.S. It will likely be the basis of the next-gen Mustang that arrives around 2011, as well as supply the platform for a new Crown Vic. We're of the mind that the current Crown Vic and its ancient Fox platform will continue for some time, and that Ford will introduce a new RWD large sedan inspired by the Interceptor Concept.

[Source: CarAdvice.com.au]

Spy Shots: Best pics yet of Ford's future Holden fighters originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments