Autoblog

Ford Performance Vehicles, otherwise known as FPV, is celebrating its fifth birthday as being the sharp end of Ford Australia's performance stick. FPV presented itself with a gift at this week's Australian International Motor Show in the form of a special edition FPV 5th Anniversary model. Only 200 units will be produced of the rear-wheel-drive Falcon-based birthday present, ensuring instant collector car status for the discerning Aussie buyer. The car features Alpine Silver 19-inch multi-spoke wheels, 6-piston Brembo brakes, sports seats upholstered in Nudo leather and special "5th Anniversary" decals on the trunk, ahead of the rear wheels, embossed on the front headrests and on the floormats. The FPV 5th Anniversary model will be available in Lightning Strike or Silhouette, both with striping, and starts at $71,890 in Australian dollars, which FPV says equates to $9,600 worth of extra goodies for only $5,300 more than the FPV GT sedan. So happy birthday to FPV, and we hope that Ford invites us to your rear-wheel-drive performance sedan party some time soon.


[Source: FPV]

FPV vs. HSV is basically Australian for "Ford vs. Chevy," but on steroids. The two performance divisions have elevated the production of the muscle sedan to an art form, with audacious looks and big power ruling the day. It's as if the original American muscle car era never ended, but got a passport and moved Down Under. Granted, we in the States don't have much to complain about lately, with Aussie muscle now available in a Pontiac wrapper, as well as the 21st century editions of Camaro, Challenger and Mustang waiting to wreak havoc at stoplights.

Still, the sweetest fruit is that which is forbidden, so you might be interested in the Motoring Channel's super acronym showdown: FPV GT-P vs. HSV GTS. The FPV is based on the new Ford FG Falcon, which arrived earlier this year, while the HSV's Holden Zeta platform underpinnings are now a couple years old. Both have V8s, both look evil, and tires break into cold sweats at the mere thought of being mounted on either machine's rear axle. With these two rides, the differences are such that picking a winner is akin to choosing between porterhouse and prime rib. It's not as if you're going to be disappointed either way, but deep down, you do have a preference. Click here to read which menu item the Motoring Channel likes best. Thanks for the tip, Torrent!



[Source: Web Wombat/Motoring Channel]

"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.

Click above for photo gallery. Follow the jump for the video.

Ford Performance Vehicles' new range of Ford FG Falcon-derived super sedans and utes is mind-bendingly appealing. Big turbocharged or NA power, bright colors, and that menacing Alice Cooper eye makeup in front make for an entire farmer's market of forbidden fruit. Sure, on this side of the world, Ford's SVT performance division gives us the Shelby GT500 and the even more monstrous Shelby GT500KR -- but seriously, as hot as the factory super-Stangs are, the lineup of FPV rides you see above is hot enough to turn that desert sand into glass. Only, they can't -- because everything you see there is virtual. Both the backdrop and the cars are CGI. The photo-realistic vehicle models were created using the real cars' CAD data for a brand new FPV TV spot that premieres in Australia this Sunday. If you don't live in Oz, no worries -- FPV sent us a copy of the spot, which is now embedded after the jump for your enjoyment. And you will enjoy it. Right now, there's a void in our lives shaped like an all-black FPV F6, and this commercial's as close as we're going to come to filling it.


[Source: FPV]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the turbocharged FPV F6

Despite how it might seem, all the action at the Melbourne motor show is not happening over at the Holden and HSV stands. Dearborn's Australian outpost put on its brass knuckles too and is teasing Melbourne showgoers with Ford Performance Vehcie's latest, greatest muscle. The arrival of the new FG Falcon means that a full lineup of FPV variants follows, and the new F6, GT and Super Pursuit ute are all on display. Like HSV, which hasn't announced power numbers for its W427, FPV is keeping the stats for its new machinery under wraps for now.

We're confident that the numbers will match the cars' gloriously extroverted looks. Colors out of a gumball machine, matte black accents, and stripe packages give the cars a vintage musclecar vibe. Big wheels, big brakes and all the requisite badges and bulges complete the look. The F6 (above) is particularly evil, with its black wheels, "eye black," and visible intercooler. The interiors of all the cars appear to be very well-detailed, with snazzy instrumentation, sharp looking accessories (look at the shift knob), and very inviting seats.

As with the higher-end standard FG Falcons, power comes from either a turbo inline-six or a beefy Boss V8. FPV takes those already-impressive engines and makes them even more imposing. We know we have the Mustang and its impressive Shelby-badged factory specials, but man, what we wouldn't give for some of this Aussie muscle. We'll be eagerly awaiting the official June launches.




[Source: FPV]

Click image for hi-res gallery

Introduced at last year's Sydney Motor Show, the Ford territory-based FPV F6X has launched Down Under. It's just another in the string of Oztacular FPV products exclusive to the island continent, and it is the first FPV machine that isn't based on the Falcon sedan or ute. With looks that are reminiscent of the Freestyle/Taurus X, the all-wheel-drive F6X won't ever be confused for either thanks to its turbocharged 362 hp (270 kw), 405 lb-ft (550 nm) inline six and the performance it brings. The suspension is ret-uned for sport duty and the 18-inch rims hide upgraded brakes, featuring 6-pot Brembos in front, which heel the beast when necessary. Inside, a spiffy two-tone leather motif is standard, and outside, exclusive badging and optional striping are all part of the appearance package. Overall, it's pretty cool. The same can't be said for its price: $75,990 AUD is the starting number -- no small amount of cabbage for our Australian friends. Note to Ford: See? If you offered more cool stuff like this in the US, the brass wouldn't be reduced to making Homer Simpson jokes about the current product. TwinForce EcoBoost Taurus X SHO... do it already.

[Source: FPV]

click either image to view more high-res shots of the Ford FPV F6 X

Ford just announced a hot new CUV for the Australian market called the FPV F6 X. Based on Ford Australia's Territory SUV, the F6 X is the very first non-Falcon model modified by the brand's high-performance FPV division. Applying their trade to the Territory yields an SUV packing a turbocharged 4.0L inline six-cylinder engine producing 362 HP and 405 ft-lbs. of torque. Power is funneled through a ZF six-speed automatic, the only available transmission, and ends up at each wheel through a full-time all-wheel-drive system. In addition, the FPV F6 X features a host of acronyms like DSC, EBD and tractional control. Brembo six-piston calipers are responsible for scrubbing off speed while the suspension has been retuned by FPV for a firmer ride.

Check out more info and the official press release after the jump, as well as the gallery below with exclusive live shots and official images from Ford.

[Source: Ford]


Live photos ©2007 Siddharth Raja / Weblogs, Inc.

Click image for photo gallery

While we wait for Ford to let the SVT gang loose on one of the Oval's US-market sedans, it's business as usual in Australia, where the awesome can't be stopped, and the current-gen FPV Falcon isn't going away quietly. Today's evidence: the just-announced FPV Cobra, a limited-edition Boss 302-powered tire incinerator that comes in both sedan and ute form. (Oh, the Boss 302 moniker stands for 302 kilowatts, not cubic inches, btw.) All Cobras are white with blue stripes, and the 5.4L Boss 302 V8 dishes out 404 horses and 398 lb-ft of torque. All that juice is directed aft via a standard 6-speed manual or a ZF 6-speed auto that's available at no additional cost.

Other baubles include standard leather, spiffy 19" wheels, Brembos (which can be further upgraded as well), all the expected badging, and in the case of the sedan, FPV's track-ready R-Spec suspension. Total Cobra production is limited to 500 vehicles, with 4-doors outnumbering utes 400 to 100. Pricing will start at $65,110 AUD for the sedan and $61,200 AUD for the ute. In other news, US customers have the new Focus to look forward to, which looks almost as cool as this Aussie Cobra, assuming you're wearing a blindfold.

Follow the jump for the official press release. Thanks for the tip, Damien!

[Source: FPV]

We're shooting from the hip this week for Podcast #71. Rather than prepare, we're going with gut reactions. Starting it off, we mull over the loss of the USGP from Indianapolis, and postulate on where else F1 may pop up in the US. An F1 race on the Vegas strip would be the bomb. Staying with motorsports, we marvel at how Team SARD spanked everyone extremely hard at Tokachi with a hybridized Supra GT. We're sure that racing will improve the hybrid breed at a much steeper pace than conventional powerplants. In other racing news, Dale Junior has split from Budweiser, so he'll have new livery to plaster all over his left-turn machine.

Moving on from racing, we ponder the leakage and eventual announcement of the Porsche 911 GT2. It's as unassuming as a Porsche can get, but it packs 530 horsepower and uses the rear wheels to push top speed to the 200 MPH realm, while being a docile everyday car. While Porsches always make us giddy little schoolboys, Subaru's recent model line revisions have us alternating between cheers and jeers. The good: the Legacy SUS, or whatever the heck they call their Outback sedan is kaput. The bad: so is the straight Legacy wagon. We devolve into a styling review of Subaru's new corporate language for a while before surfacing again to discuss the inanity surrounding presidential candidates and hybrid vehicles. Idiocy, 'nuff said.

On a lighter note, we discuss the rumored sequel to Disney/Pixar's "Cars." Not surprising when you consider how lucrative the tie-ins usually are. Off entertainment and on to entertaining cars, we ogle the leaked pictures of the FPV Falcon, and discuss the future plans of that platform here in the US. It does look mean, so thanks to that janitor who picked these renderings out of the trash. Our pithy cavalcade keeps rolling along, and we chew over Bob Lutz's latest comments about the future of diesel powerplants in the US. It's odd that Bob is cool on diesel just as GM is poised to roll out new oil-burners. Wrapping up, we put out the call to action again for the Reader Ride - add your pix to the Flickr pool and include details! The hour duration of Podcast #71 will give you enjoyment to and from work, enjoy!

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Click above for hires gallery

Australia's FPV (Ford Performance Vehicles) is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the original Ford Falcon GT with a special 200-car limited edition. The FPV Falcon GT 40th Anniversary is powered by Ford's Boss 290 5.4L V8. The 290 in its name refers to its power output in kilowatts. Put in our terms, that's 390 horsepower, and it's joined by 383 pounds of twist. That power goes to the rear wheels, natch. Breathing is aided by an FPV high-flow exhaust and six forward gears (manual or automatic) round things out on the powertrian side.

It should be noted the same drivetrain is found in the "regular" FPV Falcon GT. What sets the anniversary edition apart from its bretheren is the R-Spec suspension that underpins the car. Developed by Delphi at the request of Prodrive (co-owner of FPV along with Ford), it's designed to improve on-track performance without overly compromising everyday ride quality and tire wear.

The cars are given a coat of black paint with a gold Shelby-style stripe package (a la the Hertz Mustangs), GT 40th Anniversary decals aft of the front wheels, "BOSS 290" on the hood's power bulge, R-Spec badging on the rear, and 19" alloys (with red Brembos peeking through the spokes) trimmed in black. Note also the slick detail touches such as the FPV logo that's part of the lower grillework up front. The thing looks positively menacing and it has the goods to back it up. Man, they sure know how to do it right in Australia. Meanwhile, we get a new Five-Hundred Taurus. Yay.

Press release after the jump.

[SourceFord Australia]