Ford flouts force-fed V6 for Falcon, Territory

FORD will still offer turbocharged Falcon models when it switches from the current locally manufactured straight-six engine to a new imported V6 in 2010.

And company president Bill Osborne has promised that the new V6 turbo will match the high performance level set by the current 270kW engine as fitted to the G6E Turbo and XR6 Turbo.

“There’s a number of powertrain choices available to us from our global powertrain line-up,” Mr Osborne told GoAuto. “And we will have turbo versions of the V6 available to us.

“If you look at what’s being offered around the world from Ford, particularly in Europe and North America, we’ll have a wide range of powertrain choices available to us for Falcon.”

Asked if the turbo V6 will be as powerful as the highly regarded local straight-six, Mr Osborne said: “It will be competitive”.

Left:Ford's 3.5-litre Duratec 35 V6

“It will be competitive with where we think future competition is heading. All the specs that I have seen on the global V6 and its turbo variants suggests that it will be competitive with similar-sized six and eight-cylinder engines,” he said.

The Ford chief's performance promise echoes comments made by Falcon and Territory vehicle line director Russell Christophers in April, when he told GoAuto the V6 and its turbo twin "won't be a backward step" from the current I6 engines they will replace beyond mid-2010.

Mr Osborne, who admitted in March that the higher-tech Duratec 35 would offer lower fuel consumption as well as reduced low-end torque, said that the global V6 would also be “a very good platform” for an LPG variant, which he thinks has a big future for Australia.

Ford is preparing a submission for a slice of the federal government’s $500 million Green Car Innovation Fund and it will involve the Falcon, but Mr Osborne said that, despite industry minister Kim Carr’s recent visit to Ford in Detroit, an imminent announcement is not expected.

“We do have a plan to utilise the benefits of the Green Car Fund and it will involve Falcon as well as other products in our line-up,” he said.

“I don’t think there will be an immediate announcement forthcoming. We do have plans, the government is very aware and supportive of those plans, but we have no near-term plan to make an announcement.”

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