Ford Falcon 50th Anniversary – Special Feature – 236

On June 25, 2010, the Australian Ford Falcon notched up its half century, fifty years after the original Australian-made XK Falcon rolled off the production line in 1960 launching the longest continuous model line in Australian motoring history.

Ford Australia achieved two outstanding milestones this year, the other, 85 years of Ford production in Australia. The Falcon has proved itself to be a true icon of Australian motoring since its debut, and while other models such as the recently discontinued Ford Fairlane have travelled over Australian roads longer, they’ve included imported versions. The Falcon has undoubtedly earned its place in automotive history as the longest running nameplate on an Australian-made vehicle and, in order to commemorate this outstanding accomplishment, Ford has recently unveiled a range of six special edition Falcon’s boasting a host of additional features and special pricing. With four XR-based models and two G-Series based models, proudly wearing the Falcon ‘bird’ logo that originally inspired the name for the large car. Read the rest of this entry »

Classic Restorations turn old Mustangs into the Shelby G.T.350CR

Classically trained American car tuner Classic Recreations has just unveiled it’s latest package for the Mustang named the Shelby G.T.350CR.

The classic car specialists start with an original 1965 or 1966 Mustang, and install a rack and pinion steering system, this is followed by high-performance brakes and a coilover suspension set up. The next upgrades include a limited slip rear differential, a Tremec manual transmission and a sport exhaust system.

It’s under the bonnet where things get really serious with the ‘base model’ fitted with a 7.0-litre V8 engine with 545 hp (406 kW) of grunt. If that engine isn’t scary enough for you, the company will also offer a supercharged version with 645 hp (481 kW) as well as an insane twin-turbo variant with over 1,000 hp (746 kW). Read the rest of this entry »

British Ford marks centenary with Fiesta ‘Centura Edition’

While we usually think of Ford as an American carmaker the British arm of the blue oval has been operating for longer than most car companies have been around altogether. British Ford has been building vehicles for exactly 100 years and the company has been celebrating the milestone in a number of ways. A new special edition model is the latest.

While you’d usually expect a centenary edition model to be a uncompromising sports car that’s ultra exclusive, in this case its something different. Ford are selling a upgraded version of Britain’s biggest-selling small car, the Ford Fiesta with this special variant called the “Centura.”

The Centura celebrates the 100th anniversary of Ford in Britain, and it pays tribute to the first Ford vehicle to be manufactured in the UK, the Model T in 1911. Read the rest of this entry »

1972 XA GT Falcon – Fantastic Falcon – 236

One word – Bathurst – instantly conjures up images of decades of nail-biting battles between the two Aussie archrivals, Ford and Holden. In fact, Bathurst was the inspiration behind Ford’s decision to produce such a car as the famous GT Falcon.

During the early years of the ‘great race’ the annual 500-mile event at the mountain road course of Mount Panorama attracted countless entrants driving virtually every known variety of foreign and domestic car, including the very first purpose-built local Ford ‘race’ car, the Cortina GT500. However, in 1967 Ford was keen to promote its current Falcon XR model which, for the first time for an Australian Falcon, was available with a V8 engine. Ford set about planning something rather different. The rest, as they say, is history, as the GT Falcon reigned supreme at ‘the mountain’ during the ensuing years, and was involved in some of the most heavily fought tussles in the event’s history.

Between the years of 1969 and 1973 these mighty machines had a huge impact on the Australian touring car scene, when a young up and coming driver, Allan Moffatt, got behind the wheel of the Phase 1, 2, and 3 GT-HOs, firing up the imagination of Ford fans throughout Australasia as he took the laurels at Bathurst in 1970 and 1971. Read the rest of this entry »

Ford auctioning concept cars for charity at Monterey event

Over in the States the Monterey Car Week is one of the biggest automotive events on the calender and the associated auctions are well known for drawing out unique metal. At last year’s RM Auctions event there was a special Ford-themed sale that put some of the various blue oval concept cars from the last decade under the hammer. For 2011, Ford and RM Auctions have once again teamed up to sell off a couple of unique concept machines.

With proceeds going to charities, the concepts up for grabs are the 2001 Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept and the 2005 Shelby GR-1 Concept Platform Model.

The Thunderbird Concept (pictured in red) was first shown at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show as a retro-themed production Thunderbird with some extra goodies. The Concept’s long rear-end is shaped by a fiberglass tonneau, like the original Sports Roadster it’s named after. In the cabin the retro theme continues with styling that nods to the Thunderbirds of the ’50s and 60s. Read the rest of this entry »

Ford Fiesta celebrates 35th Birthday and 15 million sales

Ford’s Fiesta had a highly successful year in 2010 with a massive number of global sales but this wasn’t the first big year for the plucky hatchback.

The Fiesta’s history goes all the way back to 1976 when the very first Fiesta rolled off the production line. Since then it has gone on to sell 15 million units and demand is showing no signs of slowing. The Fiesta is currently Europe’s biggest selling small-car with production coming out of Cologne, Germany. It is also built in Nanjing, China, Rayong, Thailand, and Cuautitlàn, Mexico.

After thirty-five years, six generations and 15 million cars the Fiesta began from humble beginnings and is now a nameplate with heritage and longevity. Read the rest of this entry »

Win a Bizzare Ford GT40 Spyder Model

THIS COMPETITION HAS EXPIRED

SPR Limited, local importer of Spark, Bizarre and TrueScale models, is offering readers a chance to win a 1:43 resin model of the #194 Ford GT40 Spyder driven by Bob Bondurant and Sir John Whitmore in the 1965 Targa Florio. It is from the Bizarre brand, which has to date produced about 20 different models of the GT40, ranging from the 1964 test car to 1966 Le Mans versions (the McLaren/ Amon winner from Le Mans 1966 is also due later this year).

This Bizarre model is of chassis number GT/111, one of the 12 original pre-production GT40s, and one of only five open top cars ever produced – GT/108 to GT/112 were all Spyders – making it an ultra-rare beast. GT/111 has a fascinating history, being first used in April 1965 for testing prior to the Le Mans 24 Hour, then running in the Targa Florio the following month.

John Wyer sent the Spyder to Sicily thinking the open cockpit would be cooler during the 10 laps of the 71km mountain road circuit. Equipped with a 4.7-litre (289ci) V8 and five-speed ZF gearbox, the Spyder was running as high as third in the race, but crashed on lap nine, when Bondurant ran into loose gravel spread by another car, hitting a wall, and tearing off a front wheel. Read the rest of this entry »

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