(Words by Bryan McTaggart) – Ford of Australia has announced the final run of Falcon GT’s before they halt operations. The model, known as GT-F (the F being for “final”), will feature the 5.0 Coyote V8 with a blower bolted on with an expected 470 horsepower, routed through either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Brembo brakes and suspension upgrades from the Falcon GT R-spec show up, and they plan to add a stripe package that mimics the ‘70’s era Falcon GT’s. It’s also expected to be applied to the Pursuit (the Ford Performance Vehicles ute version of the Falcon). We’re also hearing that the power designation would be 351 (Kilowatts) which is about 470hp.
It has been sad watching Australia’s motoring industry roll over and die. But seeing how Ford of Australia decided to build one last rocket before ending the war is a nice touch that we hoped for. The Falcon is the Taurus we should have had all along…rear drive, manual trans offered, roomy and in GT form, absolutely ballistic. And while I’m sure that eventually Aussies will warm up to the Mustang, we highly doubt that handing them the Taurus is going to make friends. Until it’s all over, go out with the tires blazing…it’s the Australian way.
(Editor’s note: We’re all pretty bummed for our Australian pals regarding the state of affairs over there with the auto industry but we’re just straight up miffed at the ability of US manufacturers to look a golden opportunity in the face and fail to move on it. Take this Falcon for example. There’s a luxury brand that was dragged from the brink of death on the idea of performance and power. That brand is Cadillac and they make a car called the CTS with variants like the CTS-V which Lincoln has literally nothing for. The rivalry between Cadillac and Lincoln has been reduced to the rivalry between a hammer and a nail. We absolutely fail to see why keeping this car alive as a CTS and CTS-V fighter for Lincoln is a bad idea. It wouldn’t be free, but it would at least give the company a proven product that is a legit contender and not some tarted up Ford model with a nicer interior and more faux wood. Argh!)
honestly, the later GT’s are an embarrassment to the name. I know plenty of Aussies will lynch me for saying so, but they look like Camry’s with a shitty body kit. Yeh, they have V8’s but they have zero character – they are the most underwhelming thing to hear – they sound like a strangled vaccum cleaner. As Aussies we need to ask ourselves why the car industry here went to the wall…the manufacturers produced what they wanted, not what people wanted to buy…consequently nobody bought them. Chrysler sold out to Mitsubishi in the 80’s here, and then produced crappy cars nobody wanted. Their final effort was the 380, a rebadged Galant that flopped in the US. Holden produced Commodores that got heavier and ended up with bigger and bigger V8’s – great for rev heads – but they weren’t the ones looking to buy new cars – family types who were watching fuel prices spiral were – so they all bought Korean and Japanese cars. Ford made cars that just got uglier with each model ( Google AU Falcon and please make sure you haven’t eaten recently..) They tried to throttle back on the ugliness with the BA but they only look good parked next to a godawfyl AU Once they got that mess out of their systems they came out with the FG’s that were insipid looking Camry looking things. I know there will be Aussies who don’t agree with me – but sales don’t lie unfortunately…