The Ford Falcon (XR) is a full-sized car 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 Com ...

from 1966 to 1968. It was the first of the second generation 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 ...

and also included the Ford Fairmont (XR), the luxury-oriented version.

Overview

The XR series was introduced in September 1966. Styling was based on the third-generation 1966 US Ford Falcon, and it was promoted as the "Mustang-bred Falcon". It was the first Australian Falcon to be offered with a V8 engine, the , 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) Windsor unit.Falcon XR technical_specifications
Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 5 January 2009 The XR marked the first time a V8 engine could be optioned in all trim levels of an Australian car, V8s having previously been reserved for the more upmarket variants. The 144 cubic inch (2.4 L) six-cylinder engine was deleted for the XR series, leaving the 170 cubic inch (2.8 L) six as the base Falcon engine. A 200 cubic inch (3.3 L) six was also available and a 200ci super pursuit motor. The XR series was initially offered in 9 different models: Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont sedans, Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont wagons, Falcon and Falcon 500 utilities, and the Falcon Van. The new wagons shared the wheelbase with the XR sedans, unlike the 1966 US Falcon wagons which featured a wheelbase.Norm Darwin, The History of Ford in Australia, 1986, page 160 The Falcon 500 replaced the Falcon Deluxe of the XP series and the two-door hardtop body style available in the XP series was not offered in the XR range. The Falcon XR won the ''Wheels'' Car of the Year award in 1966, giving Ford Falcon two straight wins.

Falcon GT

The marketing focus on the Falcon's relationship with the Mustang's sporty appeal led to Ford introducing a Falcon GT variant of the XR in 1967, featuring a version of the 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) Windsor V8 engine, sourced from the Ford Mustang. The GT heralded the dawn of the Aussie muscle car. All of the original XR GTs were painted in the colour GT Gold, except for eight that were Gallaher Silver and another five that were Russet Bronze, Sultan Maroon, Polar White, Avis White and Ivy Green. The non-gold GTs, while having the same specifications, are the rarest of the early Australian muscle cars. File:1966 Ford Falcon (XR) sedan (18634088514).jpg, Ford XR Falcon sedan File:1967 Ford XR Falcon 500 Sedan (17032749301).jpg, Ford XR Falcon 500 sedan (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:Ford XR Falcon 500 Station Wagon.jpg, Ford XR Falcon 500 wagon (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:Ford Falcon XR Wagon (15738414525).jpg, Ford XR Falcon 500 wagon (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:1966-68 XR Fairmont

.JPG, Ford XR Fairmont sedan File:1966 Ford Fairmont (XR) sedan (23611684231).jpg, Ford XR Fairmont sedan (with GT wheel covers) File:03 XR GT GT Gold (T) 684 made

.JPG, Ford XR Falcon GT sedan File:Ford Falcon XR GT (16026861517).jpg, Ford XR Falcon GT sedan File:Ford XR Falcon ute 1.jpg, Ford XR Falcon utility (with non-standard wheels) File:Ford XR Falcon ute 2.jpg, Ford XR Falcon utility (with non-standard wheels) File:1967 Ford Falcon (XR) 500 utility (18347582806).jpg, Ford XR Falcon 500 utility (with non-standard wheels) File:1966 Ford XR Falcon panel van (7026503017).jpg, Ford XR Falcon panel van (with non-standard wheels) File:1966 Ford XR Falcon panel van (6880405758).jpg, Ford XR Falcon panel van (with non-standard wheels)

Motorsport

Ford Works Team manager/driver

Harry Firth Henry Leslie Firth (18 April 1918 – 27 April 2014) was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works ...

, and a young Fred Gibson won the

1967 Gallaher 500 The 1967 Gallaher 500 was a motor race for Production Saloon CarsOfficial Programme, The Gallaher 500, Bathurst, 1st October 1967 held at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 1 October 1967. The ...

at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst driving an XR Falcon GT.Official Programme, The Gallaher 500, Bathurst, 1 October 1967, page 37 Firth and Gibson won the race by 11 seconds from their Sydney-based teammates

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

and

Leo Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan (16 May 1936 - 2 March 2015) was an Australian former racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. Whi ...

. The Geoghegan Falcon was initially flagged in first, but a protest from Firth resulted in a recount of laps and the win being awarded to Firth and Gibson. With the Falcon powered by a 289-cubic-inch

Ford V8 engine Ford engines are those used in Ford Motor Company vehicles and in aftermarket, sports and kit applications. Different engine ranges are used in various global markets. 3 cylinder A series of Ford DOHC 12-valve inline-three engines with Twin Indep ...

, it was the first ever Bathurst 500/1000 won by a V8-powered car. Prior to 1967, the Mount Panorama Circuit had been regarded as too tough on the larger V8 cars (primarily the Studebaker Lark), and had been the domain of smaller cars such as the

Morris Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

and Ford's own Cortina GT500.

References

{{Ford Falcon XR Cars of Australia Cars introduced in 1966 XR Falcon Sedans Station wagons Coupé utilities Vans Rear-wheel-drive vehicles