The Cobra was a limited edition
Muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
of the
Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide.
* Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970.
* Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991.
* Fo ...
released by
Ford Australia
Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Comp ...
in 1978. It was based on the XC Hardtop (
Coupe
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
).
History
In 1978, Ford Australia unveiled plans for an all-new Falcon, dubbed the XD, that would be released in 1979. Unlike the current XC, the new model would be offered only as a four-door
sedan or
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
, meaning the two-door XC Hardtops of 1978 would be the last of that design.
In December 1977 Ford built 13 special order XC Falcon GS Hardtops with VINs beginning JG65TE. These cars were specially modified in the P&A (Parts and Accessories) workshop at Ford's Campbellfield factory. All vehicles were modified to accord with 'evolution' upgrades that had been approved by
CAMS for homologation to Australian Group C touring car racing Falcons ... the changes were mostly designed to enhance race durability; these vehicles, often referred to as "Pre-Cobras", were intended to be raced by teams at Bathurst in 1977. The homologation modifications included rear wheel wells that were deepened inboard by 1 inch to accommodate larger racing wheels and tyres, a reverse bonnet scoop to allow the race car engines to draw cool air from the base of the windscreen, twin electric fans that were switchable from the dash (replacing the single engine-driven fan), a front shocker tower brace ("K brace") that stiffened the front end, an idler arm brace, and an aero package including a rear "blade" spoiler (similar to that used on the 2-door Holden Torana A9X) and a front air dam. The 13 cars were available in standard body and interior colours and retained the side trim strips, dummy rear brake scoops and unpainted chrome bumpers of the standard GS hardtops. The race cars did complete the 1977 Endurance Series in their new specification and then participated in the
1978 ATCC season.
The modifications that featured in these 13 GS Hardtops formed the basis of the specification for the 30 specific ''Option 97'' Cobra Hardtops built in 1978, although there were minor differences as the Option 97 cars also incorporated further evolution parts such as reinforced fan brackets and a deeper front spoiler. In addition the Option 97 cars received a black corduroy seat material and Scheel front seats to differentiate them from the Option 96 Cobras .
When final production of the XC Hardtop at the
Broadmeadows Assembly Plant
The Broadmeadows Assembly Plant was a Ford Australia automobile factory in Campbellfield, Melbourne. It spanned and as at 2011, employed 2,088 workers.[Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...]
-themed cars (complete with "bunny" decals) was rejected as sending the wrong image for a family car company, Ford turned to
Edsel Ford II
Edsel Bryant Ford II (born December 27, 1948) is the great-grandson of Henry Ford I, grandson of Edsel Ford I, and the only son of Henry Ford II. He served as a member of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company for 33 years before announci ...
, then the Deputy Managing Director of
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
who was also M.D. of Ford Australia at that time (from 1978 to 1980). He and a local design team elected to capitalise on
Allan Moffat
Allan George Moffat OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four ...
and
Colin Bond
Colin John Bond (born 24 February 1942) is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. He quickly found succ ...
's crushing 1-2 finish at the
1977 Bathurst 1000 by creating a road car with a "Shelby Mustang" look that could be
homologated
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work f ...
for racing, while at the same time offering enthusiasts the opportunity to own a street-legal version of Moffat's race car. The first prototype Falcon Cobra was built in late April 1978 and production began that same July.
The cars were painted Bold Blue with an overlay of Sno White, with Olympic Blue accent stripes separating the two colours ... "Cobra" emblem decals, a throwback to
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...
's
Mustangs
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
of the 1960s, were affixed to the front fenders, along with a name decal at the rear. Unusually, the bodyshells were painted blue first, the intended area of blue stripes and sills then masked and the white coat painted over the top. Each of the cars was given its own individual serial number and fitted with a sequentially numbered plaque (from 001 to 400) on the dash. The first 200 Cobras produced were given the 5.8L
351 Cleveland V8, while the other 200 received the 4.9L
302 Cleveland ... the only exceptions to this being build number 351 is a 351ci (5.8 litre) V8. (For many years it was believed #001 was built as a 302, however research has proven to show it was in fact a 351, opt 96 spec with full options, inc power windows, air con and power steering)
Cobras were available with either automatic or manual transmission. Standard equipment included four-wheel disc brakes, limited slip differential, 15-inch Bathurst Globe wheels, front & rear spoilers and dual exhaust. The interiors were uniformly black, with Cobra specific cloth seat inserts in black with blue stripes that match those on the outside body. Cars numbered from 002 to 0031 were known as ''Option 97'' specification, the so-called "Bathurst Cobras", fitted with parts to allow homologation for racing, including twin radiator fans switchable from the dash, a gearbox oil cooler, suspension bracing and reworked rear wheel body housings. They were most easily identified from the other 370 ''Option 96'' Cobras via their large (and functional) rear-opening bonnet bulge. Allan Moffat's "Moffat Ford Dealers" race cars of late 1978 shared the same body paint decoration as the road cars.
Falcon Cobras have become increasingly revered by collectors across Australia and a mint example might be worth upwards of
$100,000 ... with Option 97 cars (rarely offered up for sale) likely to fetch a further premium.
Cobra 400, the last numbered Falcon Cobra off the production line, was bought in 1985 by Damien Lowry for $10,990 and used as a daily driver. In 1985 the car was disassembled for restoration following a traffic accident. The car remained that way, in boxes in Damien's garage, until February 2017 when he took it to Astill Design to be restored. Damien worked closely with Howard Astill for almost two years to restore the car to its original condition. In January 2019, Falcon Cobra 400 won the “Top Authentic” class in the Elite Division at Summernats in Canberra, and was featured in the April 2, 2020 edition of Unique Cars magazine. The car was subsequently sold for an undisclosed sum.
2007 FPV GT Cobra
![AFD 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/AFD_31.jpg)
At the 2007 Bathurst 1000,
Ford Performance Vehicles
Ford Performance Vehicles was the Melbourne-based, premium performance arm of automobile manufacturer Ford Australia. The company produced a range of Ford-based models from 2002 to 2014 under the FPV marque name.
History
The roots of FPV can be ...
unveiled a new limited edition Cobra, celebrating 30 years since Moffat and Bond's 1-2 finish. Like the original, the new FPV GT Cobra sedan has a certified build of just 400 units. In addition, a Cobra
Ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute (band), an Australian jazz group
* Ute (given name)
* ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus
* Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles
* Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
was created, of which just 100 were built. Both cars are powered by the 5.4-litre
Boss 302 engine; the name is derived from the 302
kW (405
hp) power output.
External links
Falcon Cobra Club of Australia2007 Cobra brochure from Ford Performance Vehicles (.pdf)
References
{{Ford Falcon
Cobra
Cars of Australia
1970s cars
Muscle cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1978