First published in the December 2004 issue of Street Machine

It was clear from the beginning that there was an even angrier wolf within the XR6 Turbo’s clothes. Not that the blown BA is sheepish, it’s just that the power figures Ford engineers were talking about as they prepared for the release of the BA Falcon, which included the turbo, kept on climbing.

A couple of weeks before launch they said it would have 220kW, then 230kW. It was soon 235kW and the figure they published stood at a tyre-frying 240kW. I’m not suggesting they didn’t know what they were doing, it was simply that the more they tweaked the tune the more power they got.

Caution probably stopped them going further. The XR6 Turbo was a new model in the Falcon range and there was no point getting too close to the 260kW XR8, or the 290kW GT which was new to the FPV range.

Given the rave reviews and strong sales of the XR6 Turbo ever since, it was really only a matter of time before FPV went to work on the turbo six for its own model range.

FPV sales guys reckon the success of the XR6 Turbo has shown there’s a market for a more sophisticated sports sedan, one that didn’t demand a bent eight under the hood.

The F6 Typhoon was the result. It was shown as a concept at the Melbourne motor show in March; a few months later it was a production reality at the Sydney show, and on a chilly Melbourne morning it was there for us to sample at Calder Raceway.

At the heart of the Typhoon is an updated and modified version of the double overhead cam, 4.0-litre, blown six. The FPV engineers boosted the power from 240 to 270kW, the peak arriving at 5250rpm, the same as the XR6 Turbo.

They also took the torque from 450 to 550Nm, the grunt on tap from 2000-4000rpm. To put a bit of perspective on that, it’s 30Nm more than the GT gets and the highest of any locally built performance car.

Raising the bar wasn’t a matter of turning the turbo knob — it was achieved by lots of detail changes inside and outside the engine.

The Garrett T40 turbo remains unchanged but a boost increase from 0.4 to 0.64 bar was achieved with a 50 per cent larger 12-core intercooler and dual-entry airbox which improves induction efficiency.

Inside the engine there are heavy duty rods from the LPG engine and heavy duty valve springs, while an oil cooler keeps things together when you inevitably bury the right foot deep in the plush pile carpet.

A 240mm AP Racing twin-plate clutch is fitted to handle the torque and like many competition clutches it tends to be in or out. There’s a definite point of take-up, which means it needs a deft left foot to get it moving smoothly.

The slightly tricky take-up is amplified by the taller first gear in the Tremec six-speed gearbox, deemed necessary to save the clutch with the shorter rear axle ratio. The shorter 3.73 diff (the XR6 Turbo’s is 3.45) was used to give the Typhoon a stronger launch feel.

There’s nothing new in the chassis: the brakes are the FPV Performance package with twin grooved 325mm ventilated front rotors and solid 303mm rears, twin-piston front calipers and single-piston rears. A Brembo brake package is optional. Four-channel ABS is standard, along with Electronic Brake Force Distribution.

Apart from the wild alloy wheels, the Typhoon is visually relatively low-key. There are no stripes or hood scoop and the test car was incognito in Lightning Strike light silver but the 18×8 alloys with polished spokes and black shadow rims stand out. Inside, there are GT seats trimmed in a triangular patterned fabric, and extra dials for oil pressure and turbo boost pressure on top of the dash.

There are also plenty of interior features like dual zone air-conditioning, premium sound with six-disc, in-dash CD player, power windows, power driver’s seat adjustment and Ford’s premium Interior Command Centre.

With the six up front, the Typhoon’s steering feels relatively light with reassuring balance and response. Flick it into a corner and it follows the path you’ve selected with impressive precision.

Leave the traction control on and there’s the sound of the Typhoon being ground down as the electronic brain works out what’s possible and what’s not. Safe as houses but not a lot of fun. For fun, turn off the traction control and experience the full effect of the torque as the tail inevitably swings out when you mash the throttle.

It doesn’t take much to induce wild oversteer but work on controlling it and it’s more fun than anything else you could imagine.

They tell me the Typhoon sounds great on the outside, with huge bursts of air as the wastegate opens, but there’s not much noise to inspire on the inside: it’s quiet and refined.

If you like the rumble of a V8 you’ll probably be disappointed by the Typhoon, but you won’t feel let down by its sheer grunt which threatens the powerful presence of the King.

BA FPV F6 TYPHOON