Australian’s can thank Charles Smith
for ensuring the country had a worthy competitor
to the ever popular Holden’s of the 1960’s.
Prior to 1955, Ford Australia had been assembling
British made Zephyr’s, but in 1955 the
decision was made to manufacture the Zephyr
entirely in Australia. In 1958 Smith, then
Ford Australia’s managing director, took
a trip to the US and, upon seeing mock-up’s
for the new compact Falcon being designed for
the US and Canadian markets, quickly realised
this was much better suited to Australia than
the dowdy Zephyr. Two years later the XK Falcon
made its debut, and became an instant success,
in many ways appearing far more modern that
the FB/EK Holden’s that were still sporting
1950’s style tail fins.
Both the XK and
its successor, the XL, were entirely US designs,
although some modifications were made to ensure
suitability to Australian driving conditions.
Australian designers continued to look at ways
of improving the car, particularly in light
of some minor reliability issues mainly relating
to the tough Aussie conditions the cars were
operating in. Changes ushered in on the XM
included modified front and rear suspension
layouts and improvements to the braking system,
clutch, rear axle, engine mounts and exhaust .
To prove just how thorough the design team
had been, Ford management (under the leadership
of Deputy Managing Director Bill Bourke) devised
a very clever marketing initiative, the Falcon
XP “Durability Run”.
Five
Falcon’s were pushed to the limit around
Victoria’s You Yang’s proving facility,
the goal was to rack up an incredible 70,000
miles at an average speed of 70 miles per hour!
Despite the audacity of the undertaking, and
the fact that some of the cars rolled, after
8½ days all five would finish, with
an average speed a little over 71 mph. Little
wonder the XP would take out that years “Wheels
Car of the Year” award.
The XR was to
follow, ushering in the era of the GT, but
by 1971 the US had taken the decision to drop
the Falcon from it’s line-up. More than
up to the challenge, Ford Australia were to
design the wonderfully modern XA, arguably
the first All Australian Falcon (albeit that
Ford designers had spent the summer of ’68
working in the US on a clay model). Improvements
such as four-wheel disc brakes were added to
subsequent XB and XC models, the XC bringing
Ford arguably Mount Panorama’s most famous
victory in 1977.
Leading for most of the race, Alan Moffat’s (number 1) car started
to experience mechanical problems and was limping
to the finish. Colin Bond, following in the
number 2 car, quickly closed the gap. In a
remarkable display of sportsmanship he remained
behind Moffat, riding as wingman to ensure
Ford would take out a 1–2 victory,
and the ultimate photo opportunity.
Also see: Bathurst Memorable Moments | The Ford Falcon Story |
