Ford Performance Vehicles: A Brief History #blogpost

Australia. The home of kangaroos and koalas. It’s also home to a 50-year old rivalry, Holden vs Ford. Two of the most Aussie cars ever made (Ford is actually American, I know), which made a rivalry that recently ended in a sadistic way, have made the Aussie muscle name known to Aussies and some people rest of the world.
However, the true Aussie high performance cars is associated to two tuners, HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) and the company I’m saying here right now, FPV.

Well, FPV’s prime competior, HSV was founded in 1987. So, usually, when any company found out their competiors launched a new product, most of their time, they will immediately launch their own version of their competior’s new product. But not in this case.
FPV was launched in 2002. A whole 15 years after HSV existed. That’s too late.
Wait. Actually, FPV can be traced back to 1991, when the English automotive engineering company Tickford began a collaboration with Ford Australia to produce high-performance variants of the Australian Falcon range. Which meant that FPV had it’s ancestors traced back to only 4 years after HSV has born.

Following the purchase of Tickford by Prodrive, FPV was founded as a joint venture between Ford and Prodrive.
In 2003, FPV launched it’s first car, based from the BA Falcon, which replaced the AU Falcon that is unloved to most. It’s first offering, the GT is the entry-level vehicle that started with a suggested retail price of A$59,810.
The FPV GT had a good start for FPV itself.

Thanks to the good start, other versions, like the more upmarket, more potent versions such as GT-P and Pursuit models came later. All of these models, however, came only in Modular V8 engines. With the S2 update, FPV added the 6-cylinder F6 models in the line too. Powered by the legendary Barra, it’s a turbocharged intercooled DOHC 4.0L Inline-6, tuned by FPV. It’s available in F6 Tornado and Typhoon models.

In 2005, with the launch of the BF Falcon, the FPV versions are also launched too. With the exception of some small changes, the lineup was mostly unchanged.
The Series II update gave the launch of the Force series, designed for those who want a more subtle-looking car but wants the power of the other offerings.

Before the launch of the FG Falcon, FPV launched several special editions of the BF Falcon FPV, the F6 R-spec Typhoon, the GT 40th Anniversary Edition and of course the 320kW Cobra GT. This marks the final iteration of the BF FPVs.

In 2008, the FG version of the FPV has came. It got widespread acclaim, but it was not sold as much as the BF FPV, probably due to the economic downturn. Also, suspension tune of this car is proven to make the car feel less responsive compared to the last gen, steering away customers. But, it have a new supercharged Coyote V8, dubbed as the Miami series, enough for 315 kW for the GT.

Meanwhile a FPV F6X was launched too. Based on the Ford Territory SUV, it’s essentially a Barra powered offroader. Only 200 units are sold. It’s a sales flop but’s it’s rare.

Back to the Falcon. In 2011, FPV launched a “Black” concept featuring re-tuned suspension, bigger brakes, an aggressive aero package and, crucially, staggered 19-inch forged alloys, shod with fatter 275/35 rubber at the rear, and Dunlop SP Sportmaxx GT all ‘round. Yet the production model, didn’t have the upgrades available in the concept, beside the paint. 125 units are sold.

In 2012, another special edition also came. This time, the R-series is now actually drives better than the standard offerings thanks to the upgrades made to the suspension and the brakes.

With the announcement made by Ford Oz, the living days of FPV might going to end soon. However, the ultimate version has yet to come. To commence the end of FPV, the GT-F 351 has launched. Only 500 units are available for the market. It has all the upgrades available on the R-series, with a 351 kW V8 slotted in the front.

Sadly, FPV’s operations have came to an end in 2014, leaving the FG X series not offering the FPV. However, there’s a “comeback” in the XR8 with a FPV drivetrain and the engine. The Sprint series, launched in 2016, have a more powerful engine produces 345 kW.

The whole Falcon series came fo an end in 2016, ending a 50-year rivarly. And it’s main competior, have also ended this year. But, the spirit lives on. the war is a memory to most Australian car enthuasists even today.

Thanks for viewing. See ya again!