Ford XY Falcon GT

Cleanup|date=September 2008Infobox Automobile
name = Ford XY Falcon GT


manufacturer = Ford Australia
parent_company = Ford
aka =
production = 1971–1972
assembly = Broadmeadows
predecessor = Ford XW Falcon GT
class = Muscle car
body_style = 4-door Sedan
platform = FRWhen the Ford Falcon Phase III was released in 1971, it was the ultimate muscle car and created a milestone in the Australian motoring industry. Powered by a heavily modified 351 Cleveland motor with 4 speed top-loader and detroit locker 9” diff, the GT delivered the goods. Described as "...simply one of the best cars in the world, a true GT that could take on Ferraris and Astons on their own terms..." by Sports Car World.

Top Speed

The signature piece of the GT was its top speed. It was Australia's fastest 4 door production car for almost a decade. With the rev limiter disabled it was capable of 250 km/h and would pull 7,000+ rpm, even in 4th gear. The rev limiter was set to 6,150 rpm.

Here are some stats:
0-100 km/h in 6.4 seconds
0-160 km/h in 15.2 seconds
0-228 km/h in 31.4 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile in 14.7 seconds @ 97 mph

Technical details

The GT 351 Cleveland motor produced almost 400 HP (298 kW). In 1971 it won the Bathurst motor race in the hands of Alan Moffat, however the Chrysler Valiant [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valiant_Charger] E49 Charger held the 1/4 mile record in Australia - and the 3.3L (202) 6-cylinder LJ Torana GTR-XU1 on superior race tyres defeated the GT to win the 1972 Bathurst over 6 hours in the hands of Peter Brock after brake problems and wet weather put an end to the GT challenge.

Value

The Phase 3 is in incredibly high demand. Good examples of the Phase 3 sell for in excess of $525,000. [http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThread=y&gID=0&fID=3&tID=99231 ] Due to this demand, and rarity, there has actually been a flow on effect into values of the lesser XW-XY Falcons, particularly genuine GS and GT models. Other models that also benefit from the success of the GT include the XA and XB GT hardtops as well as the lesser known Phase 1 and 2 XW GT.

A Falcon XY GT-HO Phase 3 was sold at auction for A$683,650 on Sunday 25th March 2007. The car had just 40,000 km on the clock. The buyer of the car said it will be garaged, and that he won't be driving it; he will be "keeping it as an investment". [http://www.gtho4.com] The sale price set a new auction record for Australian "muscle cars". [http://www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/about_auction_news_view.php?article=89]

On Sunday 3rd June 2007 "The Sun-Herald" (a newspaper published in Sydney, NSW) reported the sale of Phase 3 for $750,000. [copy of page 13 of newspaper: [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~gtho4/ford/GT-HO-Phase-3-3rd-June-07.jpg] ] The writer of this article, Joshua Dowling, refers to the above mentioned previous record set at Bonhams & Goodman and states that, from a small production run, "experts believe there fewer than 100 remain". The vendor of the Phase 3 was Harry Christian. [http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/750000-for-36yearold-ford-falcon/2007/06/02/1180205572256.html]

Alternative names

The name of the car is often abbreviated to 'GT' or 'GT XY' or even just 'Phase 3'. It was also known as the 'Shaker' because of the shaker scoop that protruded out of the hood and shook as the powerful Cleveland reved.

Race record

Ford Australia and Allan Moffat had great success with the Phase 3 in the Australian touring car racing where it was piloted to many race wins over its short life. One of the Phase IIIs driven by Moffat is now owned by Bowden's Own, an Australian car care products company. [http://www.bowdensown.com.au/cars/gtho.html] . This example was driven to a number of victories by Moffat, as listed below

*1st 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500, Bathurst
*1st 1972 TAA 1 Hour Race, Calder
*1st 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Round 4, Phillip Island
*1st 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Round 5, Surfers Paradise
*1st 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 1, Symmons Plains
*1st 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 2, Calder
*1st 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 3, Sandown Park
*1st 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 4, Wanneroo Park
*1st 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 7, Oran Park

uccessor

In 1972, the XY series Falcon was replaced by the redesigned XA Falcon range. Production of the XA based 1972 Falcon GT-HO Phase 4, which was superior to the Phase 3, commenced in mid-June 1972 but production was stopped due to a "Supercar Scare", e.g. "The Sun-Herald" ran this as its frontpage lead article (with banner headline in large capital letters) on Sunday 25th June 1972: "160mph 'Super Cars' Soon" [a copy of that front page is shown at the start of a Phase 4 documentary here: [http://www.gtho4.com/ford/video-clip.html] ] . Four vehicles were built when production was stopped -- three as race cars for the Bathurst 500 in October, and one made it off the production line for sale to the public. The four vehicles were sold by Ford Australia, but the Phase 4 was never officially released. [see "The Final Finest Phase" article in "Super Ford" magazine, 1987, pp. 20-27 [http://www.gtho4.com/ford/The-Final-Finest-Phase-1987.pdf] ]

References

* [http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThread=y&gID=0&fID=3&tID=99231 Supercars.net forum] , retrieved September 11,2006
* [http://www.bowdensown.com.au/cars/gtho.html Bowden's Own] , retrieved September 11,2006
* [http://www.gtho4.com www.gtho4.com] , retrieved 4th May 2007
* [http://www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/about_auction_news_view.php?article=89 Bonham's & Goodman] , retrieved 4th May 2007

Bibliography

* http://www.falcongtclub.org/