New Ford Falcon Revealed

Ford Falcon new generation is one of the best selling vehicles in Australia has been presented in the market this year. The all-new Ford Falcon, also known as FG (for Fairmont Ghia), features three versions, the basic XT, the luxury G (Ghia) and the sporty XR. Each of these versions presents a different front end, but changes go well beyond that.
The G line comes to replace the Futura and Fairmont models, and there will be no V8 option for this range. In place of the Fairmont V8 Australian customers will have to choose the new G6 Turbo or to change their option to the XR8, equipped with the BOSS 290 5,4-liter V8 engine delivering 290 kW (394 cv) at 5,750 rpm and a peak torque of 520 Nm at 4,750. Anyway, the inline six-cylinder turbo engine of the G6 is also able to provide lots of fun at the wheel, generating 270 kW at 5,250 rpm and a better torque, of 533 Nm between 2,000 rpm and 4,750 rpm.Though the engines can provide more power, they are also able to do a better mileage, achieved with enhancements in all engines and the use of variety new transmissions. The I6 Turbo, especially, uses a cylinder cut system that has been developed to provide sportier gear changes, but most surely has helped the engine reach a 10% reduction in fuel consumption.Besides this, the new Falcon also uses the Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension, which has been taken from the Territory SUV and is said to provide better handling, a variable ratio steering, recently introduced to Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the CLC-Class, and an Australian first self adjusting park brake, according to Ford. Consumers are anticipating the release of this model but Loacal companies has not provided an official press release of the vehicle, though most of the new car details can be checked on Fords website. The car will be officially unveiled to the public at the Melbourne Motor Show, starting February 29, 2008, and sales will begin next May

Ford FPV Range Australia

Ford has officially decided to use the Melbourne International Motor Show to publicly unveil it full range of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV).

Ford lauched FG Ford Falcon series, the FPV range is a thorough reworking of a familiar theme, big grunt, big car and rear wheel drive.

Its excellent for Australian performance car enthusiast as Holden, Ford’s arch rival downunder, also has a range of performance vehicles coming from the Commodore Sedan and Ute which are called HSV.

The range has not been officially released to the buying Australian public until June this year but FPV are ready to get the public excited about ther latest fpv range. Performance details have yet to be released suggesting there is still some tweaking of the powertrains going on by the Engineers to optimise both the V8 and turbo 6 cylinder units. The F6 range will use a 4.0L in-line turbocharged 6 cylinder engine which will be good for 300kW/402hp (SAE) and 550Nm of torque. This is a big jump in power from the 270kW/360hp (DIN) of the outgoing BF model so acceleration times should plummet. The 5.4L V8 in the GT series will breathe better and rev higher which should push power to over 310kW/415hp (SAE), again a good improvement over the superseded BF’s 290kW/390hp(DIN). Expect a 6 speed manual and a 6 speed ZF sourced automatic to complete the transmissions available FPV products have always had menacing styling and the new FG range does not disappoint, the front end looking particularly aggressive. If you like what you see, and you don’t live in Australia or New Zealand, you had better get that immigration process moving a long as these cars will likely never be available elsewhere.

FPV Cobra strikes Australia

FPV Cobra Apperars to be the hottest cars in in Australia. Australian’s like affair with muscle cars is nearly as long, and recently much more ardent, than America’s. The 1978 Ford Cobra XC, based on the 1977 winner of the Bathurst 1000 endurance race, kicked off the Aussie Cobra brand in style. Carrying on the tradition of big power and big iron is the new Boss 302 powered FPV GT Cobra. As we wrote last Friday, the latest incarnation of the Ford Performance Vehicle division’s Falcon-based muscle madness will be a limited edition, with only 400 sedans and 100 utes available.

FPV Force 8 - Review

FPV Force 8 - Aimed squarely at the executive market, this understated offering from Ford boasts luxury and performance without making you feel like a poseur (a la GT-P). For this reason you won’t notice it coming down the road, but as it cruises past you, a few cheeky cues will present themselves and leave you wanting more.
FPV Force 8 is not the usual attention grabbing ‘package’ I agree, but enough to start a stirring the loins. From the exterior FPV Force 8, there’s the bulge (ahem) in the bonnet, sans posing stripes, big 19” alloys sneaking a peak at the shiny red 4-pot Brembos (6 pots available), small chrome’esque touches here and there, and at the rear end there is a small pouting lip spoiler on the boot.
On the interior FPV Force 8 is stitched leather upholstery in a range of (two) colours, black and red. The red, for me, is a bit over the top and must look like something you’d find adorning the waiting room of a brothel (according to the Editor). Add to this the usual mix of black and aluminium effect trim, dark woodgrain inserts and it represents a comfortable and entertaining environment to be in.Sounds are provided by the 150W audio system with subwoofer and in dash 6CD, which strangely doesn’t play MP3s. Information for audio and climate controls are neatly combined on the colour TFT display, however overall usability left me fiddling at the traffic lights and studying the manual on the driveway. Combined electric driver’s seat and mirror memory settings, as well as power adjustable pedals are nice touches
So what’s my first ‘V8 experience’ like to drive? Well, the earth certainly moved for me but not in the raw edged, rough, gruff way I was expecting. The chassis is well composed and the FPV-tweaked 290kW, 5.4L quad-cam, 32-valve engine responsive, albeit playing with a subdued soundtrack.
To help keep a handle on those 520Nm of torques the limited slip diff (LSD) and traction control (TC) do their best to keep you heading forwards. Squeals of delight are regularly heard from the rear tyres, and 69 had to give way to 11 as my favourite number for a while. Sporting 245/35 profile tyres it does however tramline on some road surfaces.
In the wet the excitement heightens, with a lardy love-handle laden 1800Kg of bulk to try and hold onto, Stability control might be a welcome addition. Brakes need to be no less well endowed than they currently are, at 355mm front, 300mm rear, slotted and cross drilled, to be up to the task of stopping this beefcake.
Even being a bit portly 0-100 Km/h is dealt to in around 6 seconds, with the advanced ‘joy of six’ speed ZF 6HP26 high-torque auto ‘box shifting swiftly to keep the momentum going. Sports shift is available too if you want to take control and show it who’s boss.