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The basis of Ford Australia’s XR performance series, the carmaker’s large sedan and largest selling car – the Falcon – was born in the US in 1960 with the original XK, but has been developed and built in Australia since 1972 starting with the XA series.
In that time, more than three million Falcons have been sold - mostly in Australia and New Zealand.
There has been fierce rivalry between the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore for sales in Australia for years now, and this spills over to their performance variants - the Commodore SS and the Falcon XRs.
The XR was introduced as a Falcon model in 1966, largely based on the US car, but was the first Falcon here to carry a V8: the 150kW 4.7-litre Windsor engine. The XR as it stood was superceded by the XT Falcon in 1968, but the XR name lives on in the high-performance end of the Ford stable.
In 1991, after an exhaustive global search, Ford Australia finally settled on English coach-builder Tickford to head up their high performance car division.
As a result, the legendary XR series of Ford sedans were introduced with the Falcon EB range in July that year, with the XR6 and XR8 Falcons the most successful and widely recognised.
Fifth generation (from 1988)
1991 - EB Falcon, 1992 – EBII Falcon
The EB’s predecessor, the EA, had introduced a completely new shape for the Falcon so the EB and EBII didn’t change much in design terms. However, it did offer handling improvements and, more importantly, introduced the first XR6 and XR8 sports models – bringing back a V8 engine, which had been absent in Falcons from 1983.
Specs
S XR6: 161kW and 365Nm
S XR8: 165kW and 388Nm
1993 – ED Falcon
Further handling improvements came with the ED and more exterior colours were offered. Both the XR6 and XR8 gained an exclusive quad headlamp cluster.
Specs
S XR6: 161kW and 365Nm
S XR8: 165kW and 388Nm
1994 – EF Falcon
An award winning new design was launched with the EF and with it, a modified engine and suspension and a new EEC-V engine management system, plus vastly improved safety features including a standard airbag and airbag compatible bull-bar.
1995 – EFII Falcon
Ford dropped the XR6 wagon off the EFII range.
Specs
XR6: 164kW and 366Nm
XR8: 170kW and 398Nm
1996 – EL Falcon
The final E series before the sixth generation AU saw minor changes all round. Improved ABS and steering and quad-headlamps on the XR sport models were the notable differences.
Specs
XR6: 164kW and 366Nm
XR8: 185kW and 402Nm
Sixth generation
1998 – AU Falcon
The Falcon was lucky to stay on at all as Ford looked at other products like the Mazda 929 and the Ford Taurus to take its place. But for various reasons - not least of which was the effect dropping the model would have on local employment - the Falcon lived on, this time with radical new ‘New Edge’ styling that wasn’t to everyone’s taste.
2000 – AUII Falcon
2001 – AUIII Falcon
AUII and AUIII saw the introduction of double wishbone independent rear suspension and a standard passenger airbag. During this time the Falcon also received minor styling changes and the XR8 got small power upgrades.
Unfortunately though, the AU was constantly outsold by the VT Commodore.
Specs
XR6: 164kW and 366Nm
XR6 (VCT): 172kW and 374Nm
XR8: 185kW and 412Nm
2002 – BA Falcon
Over $500 million was spent on a major overhaul of the Falcon in its transition from AU to BA.
Improvements to the suspension and inline six cylinder engine plus new transmissions and two brand new V8 engines were the most notable of the dramatic changes.
The Barra straight-6 and Boss V8 engines were introduced.
The BA received a lot of front and rear quarter changes resulting in a more Euro shape. Inside was completely revamped too giving it a more conservative and polished look and feel.
XR Falcon sales go through the roof, smashing all previous records. 972 were sold in December 2002 compared with their previous best ever effort of 507 for the AU.
The XR8 is only available in manual as Ford need time to reinforce the automatic transmission to cope with the enormous power outputs of the new BOSS 260 engine.
A big talking point is the BOSS bonnet bulge on the XR8, due to the engine placement not compromised by the low bonnet height.
2004 – BA MKII Falcon
A Tremec six-speed manual transmission was introduced for the XR range.
Specs
XR6: 182kW and 380Nm
XR6 Turbo: 240kW and 450Nm
XR8: 260kW and 500Nm
2005 – BF Falcon
In 2005 motoring journalists criticised the lack of design enhancements on the BF, noting it was too similar to the BA. But several mechanical enhancements made up for lack of style, including improvements in power and fuel economy.
2006 – BF MKII Falcon
In response to Holden’s VE Commodore, the BFMKII was introduced with two new hero colours, different trim levels and a modified front end.
Specs
XR6: 190kW and 383Nm
XR6 Turbo: 245kW and 480Nm
XR8: 260kW and 500Nm
Seventh generation
2008 – FG Falcon
Starting a new generation with an impressive 5 star ANCAP safety rating, the latest Falcon was introduced in early 2008. The letters ‘FG’ are a nod to the discontinued Fairmont Ghia.
The inline six cylinder engine received a power upgrade and the XR6 Turbo produced 270kW(and 533Nm), the same as previous FPV turbos, thanks to a new induction system and extra boost.
A gas option became available for some variants.
The XR8 is the only V8 in the Falcon line-up, carrying the same V8 as the previous generation GT and produces 290kW and 520Nm.
The XR6 Turbo is more powerful than its Commodore equivalent but - like the XR8 - does not look as aggressive as its FPV cousins.
Specs
XR6: 195kW and 391Nm
XR6 Turbo: 270kW and 533Nm
XR8: 290kW and 520Nm
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