Following Ford Motor Company’s decision to shut down production operations in Australia which will take effect later this year, the Blue Oval has launched a limited-edition Falcon Sprints as a farewell bid to the Land Down Under.
The Falcon model is Ford’s large saloon, primarily sold in the Australian and New Zealand markets. The Sprint variant is the high-performance version of the already fast and powerful Falcon. Two variants of the limited edition variant (both totalling 1,400 units) will be offered; a 4.0 Turbo XR6 six-cylinder making 435 hp and the other, a supercharged 462 hp 5.0-litre V8 model. Both variants have an Overboost feature that ups power and torque for 10 seconds.
The XR6 Sprint is offered with an in-house six-speed transmission only, whereas the XR8 Sprint can be had in either a manual or automatic gearbox. Both models receive gold-painted six-piston Brembo calipers at the front and four-piston Brembos at the rear. The V8 variant meanwhile, gets an additional black painted roof and black wing mirrors. Both the XR6 and XR8 (manual only) are priced at AUD54,990 (approx. RM162,000) while the XR8 auto is pegged at AUD62,190 (approx. RM183,000).
Ford Australia began assembling cars domestically in Australia since 1925. And over the past few years, sales have steadily declined and couldn’t justify their operating costs, which means all Ford Production Plants in Broadmeadows and Geelong will be closed in October 2016. That leaves one thing clear – the 1,400 Falcon Sprint models here will be the last performance Ford models from Australia, and will surely become a collector’s model in the future. We here at AutoBuzz.my tip our hats to you, Ford Australia. Adieu!
