The Ford Falcon (XK) is a mid-sized car that was produced 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 ...
between 1960 and 1962. It was the first of seven generations of the
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
, produced until
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
.
Overview
The first Falcon sold in Australia was the XK series, which was introduced in September 1960. It was initially offered only as a four-door sedan, in both Falcon and Falcon Deluxe trim levels. The XK was essentially a
right-hand drive
Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...
version of the North American model, although local country dealers often included modifications such as heavy-duty rear suspension (five leaves) and larger 6.50 x 13 tyres. Front seat belts were optional.
The steering was light and the ride surprisingly good, on well-paved roads. Whereas the North American model used an 'economy' 3.10:1 rear axle ratio, the Australian Falcon was built with a 3.56:1 ratio which better complemented the torque characteristics of the engine. It had a turning circle.
The wagon, added to the range in November 1960, was shortened at the rear due to concern that the back of the car might scrape on rough roads and spoon drains.
Billed as being "Australian-with a world of difference", Falcon offered the first serious alternative to
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
, and became an instant success. Sales were aided by the contemporary FB series Holden being perceived as lacklustre and dated by comparison. Two engines were available; a Falcon Six
inline-six
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...
, which produced and an optional version of the Falcon Six, which produced . The Falcon was available with either a three-speed column shift
manual transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
.
Although the engines were superior to the
Holden FB
The Holden FB is an automobile produced by Holden in Australia from 1960 to 1961.Holden FB< ...
's inline-six, which produced , and the Holden did not offer an automatic gearbox, the Falcon quickly gained a reputation for weak gearboxes and suspension components, and struggled to take much of Holden's marketshare. This was further compounded by the introduction of the new
Holden EJ
The Holden EJ is a motor vehicle produced by General Motors-Holden's in Australia from 1962 to 1963. Introduced in July 1962,
The XK range was expanded in May 1961 with the addition of
utility
As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...
and
panel van
A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. ...
body styles, officially designated as Falcon Utility and Falcon Sedan Delivery, respectively. As with the wagons, these lacked the extended rear overhang of their American counterparts, and also used the four-door front doors rather than the longer two-door units used by the Ranchero and US sedan delivery. When production of the XK Falcon ended in August 1962, 68,465 units had been sold. The Falcon was also exported in small numbers to the various Empire colonies and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
nations. Pricing for a base model XK Falcon started at £1,137 ($2,274 AUD)
File:1960-62 XK Sedan-.JPG, Ford XK Falcon sedan
File:1961 Ford XK Falcon Deluxe Sedan (10359220375).jpg, Ford XK Falcon Deluxe sedan
File:1961 Ford XK Falcon Deluxe sedan (6045538110).jpg, Ford Falcon Deluxe sedan
File:1961 Ford XK Falcon Deluxe station wagon (41314781474).jpg, Ford XK Falcon Deluxe station wagon
File:1961 Ford XK Falcon Deluxe station wagon (36678395715).jpg, Ford XK Falcon Deluxe station wagon
File:1961 Ford Falcon XK Utility.jpg, Ford Falcon utility