FPV afraid to destroy GT-HO legend

While current sales figures are down from 2009, Barrett is confident the engine upgrade will get the FPV brand back on track.

The sports car manufacturer's CEO doesn't want to be remembered as the man who destroyed the GT-HO legend. Speaking at the company's unveiling of the new Falcon-based supercharged V8 lineup, which will go on sale in late October after it hits the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Barrett clearly wants to make something like the GT-HO.

But it's understandable that he's worried about ruining the legend of the car and its legendary status. “I will stand by my statement that I have always wanted to build it, but I do not agree with significant opinion that we should not do this,” he says.

A special project car still seems plausible - with ample room for increased boost pressure on the V8, but without the famous badge - and Barrett hopes to make something that will be looked at with the same fondness 30 years from now.

"The GT-HO is not just a car, it's a legend and I don't want to be the one to stuff it," he says. New forays into the SUV and small car segments have also been put on hold with the introduction of the Focus RS, and customers can expect FPV to focus on its core niche, the faster Falcons, for now.

“I firmly believe we will be a GT car company again. “We got away from that — we built a brand, but I think in the next 6-12 months we will bring people back,” he says.

While current sales figures are down from 2009, Barrett is confident the engine upgrade will get the FPV brand back on track. “We haven’t produced a single V8 engine since the end of May, there was no production at all in July…everything was focused on this launch.

"We'll be bringing back over 2000 units next year and closing the gap on our main competitor - I'd like to see us beat them by the end of next year in terms of Commodore sales versus Falcon," he says.

Exports outside of the New Zealand market are unlikely, but Prodrive Asia-Pacific Managing Director Brian Mears believes the engine has a number of uses beyond FPV.

“In terms of the development of the Coyote engine and how we developed it, I believe it is unique in the world of Ford and Prodrive and I will certainly strive to make this engine available to Ford worldwide.

“I am not aware of their plans, so they may have other plans,” he says. The Australian business has produced an amazing Australian engine and we will take every opportunity to maximize the production of this engine.”