Ford plans turbo attack for Melbourne

FORD Performance Vehicles is expected to reveal a "production concept" turbo six-cylinder BA Falcon at the Melbourne motor show, which starts February 27.

The car will be one of the horsepower highlights of the show, with Holden Special Vehicles also expected to debut its uprated GTS.

Toyota is also known to be planning something special for Melbourne, but this is not tipped to be a performance vehicle.

FPV is staying tight-lipped about the turbo Falcon but it is expected that performance figures and indicative pricing will be announced.

Pricing starting around $55,000 makes sense as it would split the difference between the mass-produced Falcon XR8 and the base model in the current FPV range, the GT Falcon.

In terms of power, the turboed inline 4.0-litre six-cylinder has already shown itself to have plenty of potential, with tuners extracting more than 350kW.

However, 270-280kW would probably be more likely for the FPV unit given the 290kW output of the V8 GT range, and also the concern over the reliability of the XR6’s manual gearbox once power and torque figures start climbing.

Hints that the car was on the way were provided by FPV co-owner Prodrive’s job ads last weekend, seeking senior engineers for “new vehicle programs for 2004 and beyond”.

The jobs advertised included manager powertrain engineering, senior calibration engineer, program manager, body and trim engineer and chassis engineer.