Final Ford Falcon GT sold out
Ford says the GT-F will be based on the limited edition R-Spec version of the Falcon GT.
FORD sold all 500 of the latest Falcon GT before the first one was built, and dealers and enthusiast buyers are asking for more.
All 500 Falcon GT-F sedans (for the "final" version) destined for Australia have been wholesaled to dealers and most of the cars already have customer names.
Despite Ford building an additional 50 GT-Fs and 120 Pursuits for New Zealand, dealers say Ford hasn't built enough GT sedans and have asked for that number to double.
But Ford says there won't be any more because it's limited by how many supercharged V8 engines it can hand-assemble at a temporary assembly site next to the Geelong six-cylinder engine line.
"Ford grossly underestimated it," said one dealer, who asked not to be identified as it would affect its distribution of cars. “This is a huge missed opportunity. I really don't think Ford understands the enthusiast market."
When Ford unveiled a special run of the Falcon GT "Cobra" at the 2007 Bathurst 1000 - to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Allan Moffat and Colin Bond's 1-2 finish - all 400 cars were sold in bulk to dealers within 48 hours.
"They didn't learn anything from the experience," said another Ford dealer, who also asked not to be named. “The Cobras sold out in the blink of an eye, and they weren't the last. This Falcon GT is the last ever, the least they could do was give more people the opportunity to buy a car.”
Dealers insist all Falcon GT-Fs are selling for a suggested retail price of $77,990 plus travel expenses. “We are not allowed to charge them extra, but they are all sold at full price,” said one Ford dealer. "They won't take a dollar off these cars because someone else will buy them." Dealers are also concerned that they say Ford is mismatching manual and automatic transmissions.
The GT-F is reported to be 62% automatic and 38% manual, but Ford dealers say that figure had to be changed because enthusiast buyers prefer manual transmissions.
For its part, Ford says that during the life of the modern Falcon GT, manual transmissions accounted for only 26% of sales. “All the manuals are gone,” one Ford dealer said. "If you want it now, you need to get a machine gun and not pick on the color."
However, contrary to dealer feedback, Ford Australia told Carsguide that there was time to increase manual transmission options before production began within the next two months.
Five colors will be available, including two exclusive to the GT-F - bright blue and dark gray. And all cars will come with a unique set of stickers.
Ford has yet to release photos or details of the Falcon GT-F; it should be submitted in June. The GT-F is expected to carry the 351 badge, indicating its kilowatt output, as well as a nod to the size of the V8 in the iconic 1970s Falcon GT-HO.
Ford says the GT-F will be based on the R-Spec limited edition version of the Falcon GT released 18 months ago, just before Ford Performance Vehicles closed its doors and Ford Australia took over the skeleton of the operation, namely the command assembly of engines. .
The GT-F is expected to be the fastest Falcon GT ever built. Thanks to a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 and wider rear wheels to help it take off the track with race car-style "start-up" handling, it should sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.
Following the release of the 351kW Falcon GT-F, the 335kW Ford XR8 will be introduced with the refreshed Falcon range from September 2014 until Australia's oldest car nameplate reaches the end of the line no later than October 2016.
As previously reported, Carsguide has been told that there are secret plans to make the latest Falcon GT's power output well above the 351kW peak it finishes at.
Confidential sources claim the now-defunct Ford Performance Vehicles extracted 430kW of power from a supercharged V8 while it was in development, but Ford vetoed those plans due to reliability concerns - and the capabilities of the chassis, gearbox, driveshaft and Falcon differential. deal with so much grumbling.
“We had 430 kW of power long before anyone knew that HSV would have 430 kW on the line. new GTS“, — said the insider. “But in the end, Ford slowed down. We could get the power fairly easily, but they felt it didn't make financial sense to make all the changes to the rest of the car to handle it."
In its current form, the Falcon GT briefly hits 375kW in an "overboost" that lasts up to 20 seconds, but Ford can't claim that figure because it doesn't meet international testing guidelines.
This reporter on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
