The Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo was almost supercharged

How do you scare a V8 owner at the drags? Tell ’em you’ve got a Barra turbo under the hood.

But what if, in some alternate reality, the XR6T was actually an XR6S? Yep, the legendary Barra six was almost supercharged, according to former Tickford and FPV program manager Gordon Barfield.

“We could modify the engine and we might have got five kilowatts, but that wasn’t going to do it.” Essentially, Barfield wanted to create a fast Ford that would appeal to those who didn’t care for – or need – a V8.

Soon, the late former racer and Ford legend Howard Marsden joined the now-FPV team, and suggested moving along with a supercharged version of the 4.0-litre inline six. Barfield, however, knew it was too late to start developing a supercharged version.

Instead, Barfield looked to the Swedes, who were at this point using low-pressure turbos to help move things along. Low boost levels on a large engine meant little lag and no real negative effect on reliability.

For more on the Barra’s development check out the 15 Years of XR6 Turbo feature in the Yearbook issue of MOTOR, on-sale November 30.