Go-fast Falcon gets new V8

Ford Australia is looking at using a high-performance V8 engine from a concept vehicle to power its top-line Falcon, a reborn version of the legendary GTHO muscle car of the early 1970s.

The engine broke cover at the Detroit motor show under the bonnet of the F150 Lightning, a high-performance pick-up truck project.

It's a turbocharged version of the American-built 5.4-litre V8 that Ford Australia reworked under its naturally-aspirated "Boss"engine programme to use in the BA Falcon XR8 and Falcon GT and Pursuit ute.

The XR8 engine develops 260kW/500Nm. The GT and Pursuit unit, developed by go-fast Australian arm Ford Performance Vehicles, produces 290kW/520Nm. The boosted engine in the F150 Lightning concept develops 373kW, or 500bhp.

It was built by Ford in Detroit to show off the potential of the 5.4-litre unit. A detuned version, with an output of around 330/350kW, is expected to find its way into the GTHO Falcon.

Such an engine would make the GTHO the most powerful Australian-built sports sedan, with significantly more oomph than the 300kW from Holden Special Vehicles 5.7-litre Clubsport V8.

Ford Australia's design director Simon Butterworth said at the Sydney motor show last year that the return of the GTHO badge was "quite likely in the future" but that performance and specification levels would be established only after exclusive consultations with customers. Ford unveiled details of the GT at the show and fans were disappointed that the car's 290kW output fell short of the 300kW from the Clubsport. But they were told that the 10kW difference left space for a more powerful GTHO flagship.

A further hint that the GTHO is slated for production came when Ford showed off the production model GT to New Zealand motoring writers 48 hours ago.

The biggest change from the Sydney show car is the addition of a twin parallel stripe extending from the lower sides around to the front lights. The GT styling cue is similar to that revived on Ford's recent GT40 concept car. The original GTHO came with stripes.

"The GT show car was voted the most popular exhibit at the Sydney show, so we came away confident that we had hit the mark with the design," said Butterworth.

A reworked Australian version of the "Lightning" engine for the GTHO would fall into line with developments between Melbourne and Detroit.

Ford executives in America are impressed by the Australian-developed Boss family of V8s and there is talk of exports back to Detroit.

The Boss four-valve head configuration is unique to Australia and the engine's performance is well beyond anything achieved out of the 5.4-litre family in naturally aspirated form in the US.

A study into the possibility of Falcon engine and platform exports to the US was approved late last year.

Ford vehicle programmes executive Philip Martens discussed the Boss engines with Australian product executive Trevor Worthington.

"Given all the things they (Ford Australia) have done with the Falcon, the easiest way forward is for us to share an engine, and that's what they could do. But we don't have any plans written down specifically yet," Martens told reporters.

"They are best being left alone to find creative solutions driven by market need. They're going to get more out of that than throwing it (four-valve engine development) into the big Ford system here. That's why the reverse cycle - bringing it back up here - is what I prefer."

Martens suggested the Boss could be applicable to Ford's North American rear-wheel drive line-up, including the next Mustang in 2005.