First look: Dick's V8 Supercar for the road

DICK Johnson Racing has launched a hot new Falcon it claims will become Australia’s most exclusive high performance road car.

Dubbed the DJR High Performance 320, the wildest production Falcon available is the result of a joint-venture between high-profile Ford tuning house Herrod Motorsport and Australia’s oldest professional touring car team.

Available only from the Aussie touring car legend's race team, the BA Falcon-based HP320 features a race-bred 320kW V8 and sport-tuned chassis, plus body, trim and equipment enhancements.

Each vehicle will be built to order, individually numbered and personally road tested by the five-times touring car champion.

“Finally being able to expand our horizons and move into the development of these cars is a real dream come true for me,” said Dick Johnson in a press release.

“Ford’s BA Falcon is the best thing they’ve ever built and has provided us with a great platform to develop something very exclusive and very special in answer to tremendous interest from our fans. I am absolutely delighted with what we’ve achieved.”

As the picture shows, HP320 wears a specific rear wing, staggered-width 19-inch BBS Motorsport alloys with 245/35-section front and 285/30-section rear Dunlop SP Sport 9000 tyres and a unique front bumper with wide front airdam and a racy lower chin-insert.

Of course there’s the obligatory front and rear “DJR 320” badging, but perhaps the most distinctive design element is the revised bonnet, which features a black and silver-painted insert within the standard XR8 and GT bonnet bulge.

Bodywork was designed by DJR and manufactured by UP Industries under its C2R brand, using R-RIM (Reinforced Reactive Injection Moulding) plastic.

Under the bonnet is where the HP320 action is really at. Based on Ford’s new 5.4-litre quad cam V8, the Herrod-tweaked engine produces a claimed 320kW (up 60kW on XR8 and 30kW on the FPV GT) and maximum torque of 540Nm (up 40Nm on XR8 and 20Nm on GT).

The power and torque boost comes from DJR camshafts, high-flow dual exhaust system with twin tailpipes, cold-air intake and engine control unit modifications.

Transmission choices remain Falcon’s standard four-speed sequential shift auto or five-speed manual with DJR “sure-shift” gearshift assembly.

HP320 also features an enhanced sports suspension package comprising adjustable Koni dampers front and rear, and special-rate progressive coil springs with lowered ride height, while unique new brakes are said to be the largest fitted to any Australian-made performance car.

They comprise 365x35mm slotted and ventilated front discs with six-piston Alcon monoblock callipers, plus 343x28mm rear discs with four-piston callipers and braided brake lines.

For a retail price starting around $90,000 – about a $20,000 premium on FPV’s range-topping GT-P - HP320 buyers also get a completely retrimmed and colour-coded interior, which also includes unique front and rear seats, sports steering wheel, Momo gearknob, DJR instruments and Premium six-CD sound system.

Options include a sunroof and DVD satellite-navigation with TV.

DJR will offer a warranty for its modified components, with Ford’s three-year/100,000km factory warranty remaining intact for the remaining 90 per cent of the vehicle.

Asked how may HP320s DJR expects to sell, general manager Steve Chalker said: “As many as we can."