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John Mellor's GoAuto news GTHO blow Continued from previous page A boosted version of this engine, which is likely to be developed for high-performance Mustang variants, would provide the perfect powerplant for a GTHO model. If the GTHO survives the business case this time around, it is almost certain to wear the Super Roo logo, which features a tyre-smoking kangaroo and was fi rst introduced on the XW GT 351 of 1969. GoAuto understands FPV is saving the Super Roo logo for the GTHO. “It will be used when the time is right to use it,” Mr Barrett said. The FG GTHO project was long dead before Mr Barrett joined FPV in July last year. A special-edition Falcon GT released four months before Mr Barrett arrived at FPV came close to wearing the Super Roo logo. The 40th Anniversary GT, which was painted black and ran gold stripes over the bonnet, roof and boot, was initially meant to wear Super Roo logos but cost-related issues saw the decals removed. While Ford Australia was not prepared to push through with a supercharged GTHO for the FG range, Melbourne tuning house Herrod Motorsport already builds its own versions. The respected engine tuner offers intercooled supercharged kits using a Yella Terra Whipple supercharger that runs at 9 to 10psi boost for Falcon BA and BF V8s. The $14,000 upgrade lifts the output of a standard XR8 Boss 260 to a healthy 390kW and around 580Nm. Fitting the kit to the Boss 290 V8 yields around 400kW and 600Nm. Herrod Motorsports even fi ts the upgraded engines with a special engine badge that reads GT-HO or XR8-HO, with ‘Herrod’ written beneath the H and ‘Option’ written bellow the O. Herrod Motorsports knew Ford and FPV were considering a boosted HO for the FG program and put together a proposal to do the engine work for the proposed high-performance model which did not materialise. SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net A PRIL 16, 2008 Page 2 Offi cial: New FPV F6 to offer 565Nm of torque IT IS offi cial: Ford Performance Vehicles’ new FG Falcon-based range, due to go on sale in June following its media launch in four weeks, will be headlined by a 315kW Boss V8-engined GT. The FG-series FPV fl agship’s peak power output now comes 1000rpm higher up the rev range than the current Boss 302 engine, indicating a signifi cant hardware upgrade for the all-new sedan and utility range, while maximum torque of 551Nm (up from 530Nm) also occurs 250rpm higher, at 4750rpm. The Boss 315 engine’s output was revealed indirectly last week, when the press launch invitation was issued containing a full-frontal shot of the new FPV GT, complete with aggressive new bonnet bulge decals. FPV says the “Boss 315” logo will also appear on new engine covers for the GT E, GT-P and GT sedans, as well as the FG-series Pursuit and Super Pursuit utes. The 13kW peak power hike for FPV’s 5.4-litre DOHC V8 may or may not come as welcome news to Ford faithful, however, given that HSV announced two weeks ago that all of its Commodore-based vehicles will come powered by a 317kW/550Nm 6.2-litre LS3 V8 from this month. The HSV running change will be accompanied by relatively small fuel consumption and price increases, but only time (and power-to-weight ratios) will tell Getting value from your dealer software supplier? Is there an alternative? Yes, there is. Call Auto-IT. whether the revised HSV V8s will continue to offer real-world performance advantages over their opposite numbers at FPV. Two FPV models that HSV will not have answers for are the wild new turbocharged F6 sedan and ute stablemates. The F6 twins will come with an extra 40kW of peak power, with performance rising from 270kW at 5000rpm to 310kW at 5500rpm – falling just 5kW short of the FPV V8, but bettering the output of Ford’s blistering new XR6 Turbo by 40kW. The biggest news, however, is that peak torque for FPV’s 4.0-litre DOHC inline turbo six rises from 550Nm between 2000rpm and 4250rpm – fi gures that saw it produce more torque than any Australian-made vehicle ever – to a bullocking 565Nm from just 1900rpm and extending all the way to 5200rpm. While full details, including fuel consumption, are yet to be revealed, FPV claims the I6’s superior outputs come courtesy of stronger pistons, more turbo boost pressure and a larger intercooler mounted in front of the radiator. Both F6 models will wear “F6 310” badging on their sides and rear ends, as well as on their airboxes. “After two years of testing and development we have two new engine variants that will deliver big performance,” said FPV general manager Rod Barrett. FULL STORY: CLICK HERE Duratec to shine: Ford - next page Dealer Management Systems sales@auto-it.com.au | www.auto-it.com.au | +61 3 9349 3062
John Mellor's GoAuto news SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net A PRIL 16, 2008 Page 3 Duratec to shine: Ford 2010 Falcon V6 to offer similar performance and economy to I6, plus turbo By MARTON PETTENDY DESPITE being smaller in capacity, Ford Australia has promised the imported Duratec V6 that will replace its homegrown 4.0-litre straight six in both Falcon and Territory models in two years “won’t be a backward step”. As revealed exclusively by GoAuto last July (and announced by Ford a week later), the Blue Oval will cease Geelong production of its trademark inline six rather than invest in the development required for it to meet tougher new Euro IV emissions standards, which are due to apply to all new vehicles from July 1, 2010. Ford has confi rmed only that the current inline six – which has undergone signifi cant upgrades for next month’s redesigned FG Falcon and which GoAuto understands will itself be upgraded yet one more time before its eventual discontinuation after 50 years of Falcon service – will make way for a global Duratec V6 manufactured in the US. Ford Australia president Bill Osborne, who started his Ford career as the design supervisor of the Duratec 35 and launched it in the Edge SUV in his previous capacity as Ford of Canada president, last month said the “world-class John Mellor's <strong>GoAutonews</strong> PUBLISHER: John Mellor EDITOR: Terry Martin MANAGING EDITOR: Marton Pettendy JOURNALISTS: David Hassall, Philip Lord, Byron Mathioudakis, James Stanford PRODUCTION AND GRAPHICS: Chris Harris, Luc Britten SUB-EDITORS: Katrina Webb, Georgia O'Connell NEW MODEL DIARY: Lou Paolino PRODUCED BY GOAUTOMEDIA: Ph: (03) 9598 6477 newsroom@mellor.net ADVERTISING MANAGER: Steve Butcher Ph: 0419 562 110 ads@mellor.net SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net Duratec 35” will deliver fuel consumption gains but “can never duplicate the low-end torque of the I6”. Now, however, despite similar concerns about the new V6 being voiced privately by senior Ford engineers, one Ford executive has guaranteed the Duratec engine will at least match the performance and fuel consumption of the inline six. In 2008 FG Falcon guise the long-running Australian-made straight six produces 195kW at 6000rpm and 391Nm of torque from 3250rpm, and returns 10.5L/100km in fi vespeed automatic form. “The V6 won’t be a backward step,” said Falcon and Territory vehicle line director Russell Christophers when asked about the Falcon’s Duratec future. “The important thing is we won’t be going backwards in terms of either performance or fuel economy.” Mr Christophers would not elaborate on exactly which performance fi gures will be at least maintained by the new V6, which is a modular design that entered production in late 2006, but he confi rmed it will be an offthe-shelf engine. “We’ll take a version of the Duratec that is globally available,” he said. As previously reported, the Duratec 35 is the fi rst member of Ford’s new “Cyclone” engine family, an all-aluminium 60-degree design that in this case displaces 3.496 litres and features 24 valves operated by double overhead camshafts with variable intake valve timing. It also powers the US-market Lincoln MKZ, Ford Taurus and Taurus X, Ford Flex and Mercury Stable, but running on standard 87octane US fuel in the current Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX SUVs the D35 produces 198kW at 6250rpm and 339Nm of torque from 4500rpm. In the MKZ, which is about 150kg lighter than the new Falcon, it returns about 8.7L/100km. Set to power 20 per cent of Ford’s North American vehicles, our D35 should come from Ford’s Lima plant, Ohio, where production began in July 2006. The D35 was rated among the ten best engines available in the US last year by leading automotive research body Ward’s. The fi rst Cyclone family member sampled by Australians is the 3.7-litre Duratec 37 found in Ford subsidiary Mazda’s large CX-9 SUV, which offers 204kW at 6250rpm and 366Nm at a busy 4250rpm. The 3.721-litre’s V6’s 225cc capacity increase over the Duratec 35 comes via a 3mm increase in bore diameter, making the D37 even more oversquare than the D35. While the Duratec 37 is designed to power SUV and truck applications, including the Ford F-150 from 2010, the Duratec 35 is the most obvious candidate to power both the Falcon and Territory in a little over two years. FULL STORY: CLICK HERE Up Close on Personnel - page 25 vation Duratec 35 EcoBoost staff marketing
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