Ford Falcon XR Sprint confirmed

The Ford Falcon will Sprint faster towards its October 2016 demise, with a special powered-up XR6 Turbo and XR8 grunting up and facing off.

Ford Australia announced the XR6 Turbo Sprint with six-speed automatic, and XR8 Sprint with six-speed manual or auto, will join the Falcon range in limited numbers early next year. Both are confirmed to increase power over the regular versions, however the Blue Oval is still keeping the bleeding obvious a secret.

It has been expected that the XR6 Turbo would move from 270kW/533Nm to the 310kW/565Nm of the defunct FPV F6 and the XR8 from the current 335kW/570Nm to the 351kW/570Nm of the final FPV GT F, however a Ford source hinted that the Sprint packages are likely to stretch beyond anything we've seen before.

We’ve managed 0-100km/h bests of 4.87sec for the 335kW XR8 and 5.11sec for the 270kW XR6 Turbo.

In true Sprint fashion, the game is on: back in 1993, the original ED XR8 Sprint delivered 192kW from its 4.9-litre V8, up from the standard 165kW/388Nm outputs that saw it threatened by the ED XR6 that delivered 161kW/366Nm from its 4.0-litre six.

Ford also confirmed the XR6 Turbo Sprint and XR8 Sprint will score a unique wheel design and exterior stripe design, numbered engine plaque and ‘Sprint’ badging on the front three-quarter panels, rear decklid and front seats.

Upgraded brakes are part of the Sprint package, Ford says, which will likely see the four-piston Brembo front calipers of the XR8 given to the XR6 Turbo for the first time. The turbo six is also expected to debut the 275mm-wide rear tyres, stiffer springs and Sachs dampers of the supercharged V8 model.

“There has been a lot of speculation around what our plans are for Falcon in 2016 and today we’re happy to confirm that Ford will build a special series to celebrate Australia’s large sedan,” announced Ford Australia president and CEO, Graeme Whickman.

“The Falcon XR Sprint is aligned to the understated look of our notable historic performance Falcons; they will be styled with design and dynamic influences that are distinctly different in feel, presence and execution.

“The XR Sprint will be a limited-edition series and one we think will be highly regarded by our Falcon fans. Ultimately too, like many of our performance Fords, we expect it to be a highly collectible car.”

Next stop, next year, will be the dragstrip for a final-Falcon turbo six versus supercharged V8 zero to 100km/h sprint. Bring it on.