XR (Ford Australia)

Infobox Automobile
name = XR
Designation = XR
manufacturer = Ford Motor Company
production = 1991 - ????
class = Sports Car (Sedan/Hatch/Utility/Wagon)
predecessor = Nil
designer = Ford Australia

The term XR, first coined in 1991 on the EB Falcon, is a term used to describe some high performance Ford vehicles in Australia, having copied the term from Ford Europe who used XR3 for the Ford Escort and XR4 for the Ford Sierra from the mid 80s. XR stands for Experimental Research [ [http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/XR XR - TheFreeDictionary.com] ] . The first XR's were the XR6, S-XR6 and XR8, these names were applied to the more performance oriented Ford Falcons. The number after the "XR" is used to designate the amount of cylinders the cars engine has. Showed following are the cars that the XR name has been applied to.

^{(*) Denotes a discontinued model}

Turbo

Since 2002 the term Turbo has been applied to some high performance Ford vehicles. The Turbo moniker is used to signal the presence of Forced Induction. The Turbo sixes are notorious for beating Ford's eight cylinder engines and in some cases beating competitors more powerful engines with higher displacement. The other Turbo variants (Mondeo and Focus) are imported from Ford Europe and are otherwise named the ST variants.

Encouragement

Since the Boss engines used for V8 Falcons have been continually criticised it has been suggested by Wheels Magazine that Ford Australia turn to Forced Induction for its V8's.

Engines

FG Falcon

According to publications, including Wheels Magazine, the XR variants of the FG Falcon are among the best and most dynamic cars Ford has ever produced. The new Turbo engine is already being touted as one of the best engines ever produced in Australia.

Grandpa's Axe

The Ford inline six used for the Falcon since its creation in the late 60's (has been updated and redesigned since inception) is confirmed to be discontinued after the year 2010. This had created problems for the development of the XR6 Turbo which were eased with the introduction of the Twinforce Duratec 35 V6 engine introduced in the Lincoln MKS towncar. The Duratec 35 will replace Ford Australias inline six around 2010. The introduction of the Twinforce could make it the first Twin Turbo car any of Australia's auto makers have ever made.

CAFE Fuel Regulations

Because of the high Fuel Consumption of the V8 and Turbo Sixes Ford Australia has had to look for alternative V8 engines after 2010 (the new Duratec 35 meets consumption regulations). It has been suggested that the all alloy 5.0 Litre V8 from the supercharged Jaguar XF will be used.

ources

* [http://www.wheelsmag.com.au Wheels Magazine]
* [http://www.ford.com.au Ford Australia]

References