FORD FALCON XR6 TURBO
UNTIL THE BA Falcon XR6 Turbo of 2002, Ford Australia had never really produced a decent six-cylinder engine. Torquey, strong, and as simple to maintain as a modest alcohol dependency, but for such a long time about as inspiring as devon and sauce.
Even at its best, either without pollution gear (as in the ’71 XY Falcon 250 2V) or with an alloy head and sophisticated fuel injection (as in the ’83-87 XE/XF 4.1 EFI), Ford’s long-stroke, pushrod straight six was a hoary old thing famous for its fan noise and 40-a-day wheeze.
And later overhead-camshaft developments weren’t much better. The last pre-BA ‘performance’ Falcon six – the AU XR6 VCT (for Variable Camshaft Timing) – was so harsh and vibey when pushed hard that it threatened to hacksaw its way through the firewall. No wonder buyers favoured the increasingly powerful (if similarly ancient) Windsor V8, though let’s be honest – no-one really favoured the 1998 AU, not even Ford insiders.
