It’s been 12 years since Ford Performance Vehicles, Ford Australia’s ProDrive-backed hot-up shop, rolled out their final car. They’d given us some corkers, including the wicked Barra-powered F6 Typhoon and Force6, as well as a bunch of great V8-powered GT and GT-P Falcon sedans and utes but, as Ford wound down their local vehicle building the end for FPV came in 2014.
Thankfully, they went out on a high, releasing 500 examples of this car: the GT F 351. F stood for Final, but it could have also stood for “Effin’ Fast”, because this factory-supercharged quad-cam 5.0-litre-powered four-door had grunt for days.
FPV retuned the Miami 5L to produce 470hp (351kW) but Ford added a temporary Overboost function which lifted the power to 541hp (404kW) for up to 20-seconds at a time. It meant the GT F was ridiculously quick, towelling up the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.9-seconds for the manual (4.6 for the auto) and running a 12.68 quarter-mile at the Ford proving ground, while Wheels got John Bowe to run one to a bonkers 297km/h top speed in the Norther Territory, after removing its factory 250km/h limiter.
On top of all the regular sporty FPV hardware we’d gotten used to seeing for the preceding 10 years they’d been operating the GT F got the hardcore FPV R-spec suspension and chassis upgrades, special staggered wheels measuring 19×9-inches on the back, special Dunlop tyres, big six-pot and four-pot Brembo brakes, and a bi-modal exhaust. Inside is special GT F leather and suede trim, plus digital gauges for ancillary read-outs, premium audio, and all the on-board electronics we’re used to in modern cars.
Reviewers praised what a great driving car the GT F was at the time it was released, singing the praises of the Aussie engineers who worked hard to send the Falcon GT nameplate off on a high, and agreeing this final FPV felt special. Any GT Falcon is a prized possession in Australia, and the demand for this final model was more intense than trying to brush a cranky taipan’s teeth.
Interestingly, demand for manual examples was higher than for autos and so manual examples, like this stunning Silhouette Black car at The Motor Gallery, are highly sought-after today. Build number 103 out of 500, it’s obviously been a cherished example as it’s done less than 24,000km and has all its pre-purchase paperwork with it.
We’ve seen some bonkers prices paid for final-edition HSVs, and especially the limited-edition LS9-powered GTS-R W1s, so it’s mildly puzzling that the evergreen thirst for classic Falcon GTs hasn’t flowed through to the modern examples. When they’re as good as the GT F is, it seems a shame they’re not commanding a stronger presence in the Aussie car scene.
Hopefully, as the years roll on and we see fewer Falcons being used as regular transport we a greater appreciation for these epic pieces of Australian home-grown engineering.
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13-15 Kilpa Rd, Moorabbin VIC 3189
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