Gran Turismo Falcon: Ford Unleashes the 351kW GT-F.
Ford Australia stayed with its tried and true “drip feed” teaser campaign in the lead up to today’s (June 10, 2014) release of the GT-F from Ford Performance Vehicles. Looking remarkably like anything from the V8 range in the FPV stables, it’s the thing filling the gap between front wheels and bonnet that has followers of the blue oval all excited. The supercharged 5.0L beast is said to have 351 kilowatts, in reference and homage to the iconic 5.8L V8 found in Falcons of the 1970s. Rumours already fly in regards to the true output, with some sources quoting over 400kW with what Ford calls an overboost function. Torque is sizable with 569 Newton metres available, allowing a sub five second zero to 100 kmh time.
Externally, Ford offers this: in what’s claimed to be a direct salute to the Falcon GTs of old, the GT F features bonnet, roof and rear deck black-outs that FPV says are “unique” to the model. The GT F is also gifted a “distinctive ‘stealth’ exterior striping package” as well as gloss-black accents on the ‘raccoon eyes’, grille, applique, rear diffuser, door handles and mirrors. This, says Ford, ensures “the GT F is unlike anything that has come before it”. The interior has also had a bit of a wand wave, with an enhanced infotainment system featuring a G sensor, uprated seats with the logo embroidered in and GT Orange highlights on the dials, seat stitching and badging.
Such is the attraction of the 351 numerals, virtually all of the 500 cars built for Australia (50 for New Zealand) were presold, with one dealership, Sunshine Ford on Queensland’s Gold Coast being lucky enough to be allocated build number 351 in a Ford ballot, subsequently bought by a loyal customer. This particular customer, a long standing client, has gone to the trouble of securing Queensland registration with the numbers 351 on the plates.
Engineering wise, apart from the semi-tame atomic bomb under the bonnet, there’s retuned springs and shock absorbers, wider wheels, reinforced real lower control arms, stiffer upper control arm bushes and suspension strut mounts at the front . These come from the firecracker RSpec sedan so it’s a well proven package and should ensure a crisp, sporting ride. For those that are able to enjoy race circuit track days, Ford have also engineered in rear camber bolt adjustment. Transmissions are six speeds in both auto and manual.
At $77990 plus ORCs, it may not be cheap but the sheer amount of torque and ponies will see it well placed to take on more expensive competition plus annoy the “other” big hitting Aussie brand, HSV. With the cars largely being bought by investors, their return is sure to be positive.
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