Falcon GT: the legend returns!

FORD Australia has confirmed the return of one of the most famous names in local performance car history to full-time production, the Falcon GT.

However, if you were hoping for a return of the legendary GTHO as well there's no good or bad news, with Ford neither ruling it in or out for the moment.

The historic GT nameplate will head a three-car BA Falcon based Ford Performance Vehicle (FPV) range, and will be unveiled at the Sydney motor show in October before going on-sale early in the new year.

The other two models in the launch range will be the GT-P (P for performance spec) and the Pursuit Ute. The latter will be at Sydney with the GT, but you'll have to wait until the new year to lay eyes on the GT-P.

At today's announcement only indicative sketches and badge designs were revealed. The GT and Ute will share front-end styling while the GT-P is expected to be be more aggressive but also have more luxury equipment.

All three cars will be powered by pepped up versions of the new 260kW 5.4-litre V8 "Boss" engine that goes into the BA XR8. However, down the track FPV could expand its repertoire to include six-cylinder and four-cylinder models.

No power figures or pricing will be announced prior to the Sydney motor show, but with the XR8 now clocking in at 260kW it's fair to suggest that 300kW is in the aim for the three models. The current TE and TS Falcons and the Pursuit Ute produce 250kW from their stroked Windsor V8 powerplants.

The new V8 engines will come in CKD from the Windsor plant in Canada and be hand-built on an assembly line at FPV's Campbellfield headquarters, using many locally sourced parts.

The launch of GT heralds the end of the unhappy T-Series range of V8 Fords, which was intended to go toe-to-toe with Holden Special Vehicles but never got close, despite three different iterations in three years.

This time round there's no doubt HSV is directly in Ford's gunsights with an ambition to match the highly successful hot Holden maker for sales within three years.

In that context, the unveiling of FPV is as significant as the cars themselves. FPV is essentially 11-year old Tickford Vehicle Engineering re-organised and re-directed to not only engineer but also sell the new range through its own sales and marketing arm.

"Tickford was an engineering company. Ford Performance Vehicles will be a great engineering company, but also a great marketing company that engineers and markets sensational vehicles," promised Ford Australia president Geoff Polites.

It will also sell high-performance parts and merchandising, the latter an area where HSV has made a fortune.

The new structure means not only the T-Series name goes, but also Tickford badging on the XR series, which will now only have Ford badges, and the FTE chain of dealerships is no more.

The ownership of FPV remains as before, with UK-based Prodrive holding 51 per cent and Ford Australia 49 per cent. David Flint continues as managing director.

FPV is aiming to sell 2000 cars in its first year on sale through 80 FPV dealers, with the big seller being GT. All 242 Australian Ford dealers have been invited to apply for an FPV franchise.

"Ford Performance Vehicles has a mission. A mission to produce the best locally designed and engineered high performance cars in the country," said David Flint.

"High performance is more than just top speed or the biggest power number," he explained. "At Ford Performance Vehicles we are committed to producing a car with total driving dynamics, a car that performs just as well through corners as it does in a straight line."The GT Falcon first appeared as an XR in 1967, and most recently as the 30th anniversary special edition in 1997. The last full-time Falcon GT was the XB of 1973.