Few revheads would deny the potency of Ford’s DOHC, 4.0-litre inline-six Barra engine. Since its grand debut in the BA Falcon in 2002, the Barra has become arguably the greatest Australian production engine of all time – so much so that it has completely overshadowed the other two Ford mills that debuted alongside it.

One of those was the Boss 260 V8 that we know from the BA XR8, but many will have forgotten about the other bent-eight: the Barra 220. Yes, Ford released a second V8 option for the BA back then, and yes, it also bore the Barra name.

Unlike the Aussie-made Barra six, the 220 was not made in Australia. Sourced from Ford’s engine plant in Canada, it was part of the company’s modular V8 range being offered in vehicles like F-trucks at the time.

Like the Boss 260, it also had a 5.4-litre displacement. The cast-iron block was topped by a pair of aluminium heads, with one camshaft for each. It had 24 valves, with three per cylinder (two intake, one exhaust). The variable-length intake and smaller SOHC heads meant the 220 could fit under a standard BA bonnet – unlike the Boss 260 in the XR8.

On debut, it made 220kW and 470Nm, topping out at 6000rpm. A later revision of the ignition tune for the BF Falcon saw the engine renamed the Barra 230, with power bumped to 230kW and 500Nm of torque. Even so, it was still 10kW off the XR6 Turbo in standard guise, and 30kW behind the XR8.

In fairness to the Barra 220/230, it wasn’t marketed as a performance engine. That’s evidenced by it only being offered in the BA Fairmont, Fairlane, LTD, Falcon Ute, RTV and, in rare numbers, the base-model XT sedan. Ford apparently saw the engine as a torquey alternative for cruisy grunt or towing over the high-revving, higher-compression Boss V8.

All the luxury variants got a sludgy four-speed auto in the BA, but in both the XT sedan and Ute, there was the option of a five-speed manual.

For the BF generation, the V8 was removed as an option for the XT. The luxury Fairmont, Fairlane and LTD lines saw the gearbox upgraded to the much nicer six-speed ZF auto, while the Ute stuck with the basic four-speed.

The introduction of the FG Falcon in 2008 saw the end of the 3V variant of Ford’s 5.4-litre V8 in Australia. The long-wheelbase Fairlane also went extinct, as did the Fairmont badge, to be replaced by the G6 and G6E. Those new luxury-spec models were only offered with the 4.0-litre Barra six in either turbo or naturally aspirated form, and the XR8 continued to fly the V8 flag on its own with the uprated Boss 290.

Buying one

While not a fantastic performance engine out of the box, the Barra 220 does provide a dirt-cheap avenue into V8 noises. The rarest chassis to find them in is an XT sedan, especially with a manual. Your best bet would be to find either a Falcon Ute or one of the luxury variants; we’d personally look out for a tidy Fairmont or the high-riding RTV.

There weren’t many of those for sale when we looked in July 2024, but we did find a rare BA XT for $5000 and a Ute for $6000, both manual, although both of those needed the timing chains attended to. In this market, we’d recommend spending anywhere from $5000 to $8000, and don’t overpay, regardless of the chassis.

What to look out for

Being an overhead-camshaft design, the timing chain tensioners are a known Achilles’ heel of these engines. They’re hydraulically operated with oil pressure, so a lack of oil or poor-condition oil from bad maintenance can cause the tensioners to give out. So, check the oil before starting the car, and listen out for a rattling sound. Fixing the problem is time-consuming and expensive, but it will give you the opportunity to upgrade the factory defective plastic guides on the tensioners while you’re in there.

Sparkplugs can also be an issue; like those in the Boss V8, Barra 220 plugs have been known to get stuck in the heads and snap off. This will be hard to check when buying, so ask for service records to see when the plugs were last done.

Modifying a Barra 220

While the modifying potential of the 220 is far outstripped by that of its fitter, far more capable six-pot cousin, people have done it in the past by adding simple exhaust and intake bolt-ons, or even adding complete Vortech supercharger kits.

Maxx Performance had a Barra 220 Fairlane make 209rwkW on its dyno with some exhaust, intake and tuning mods, while CAPA Performance offers a Vortech kit for the 220/230 for a power boost of up to 400kW if CAPA’s optional intercooler is used.