FPV F6 Typhoon 2005 Review

But the Boss may not have the ultimate power any more.

The other member of what Ford calls Performance Inc., the F6 Typhoon, is on the loose and is creating quite a few waves.

They say there is no replacement for displacement, but the six-cylinder Typhoon might just water down that claim &#!50; for some anyway.

The Typhoon is the Ford Performance Vehicle's version of the stunningly successful XR6 turbo. It runs a beefed-up version of its four-litre in-line six with .64 bar boost being developed from the Garrett turbo. The premium for arming yourself with the Typhoon over the garden variety Ford blown six is $12,600 which makes the FPV a $58,950 spend.

So what do you get over and above the stock standard turbo and is it worth it?

Try enhanced suspension with stiffer rear springs, bigger and better tyres, bigger and better brakes, specially developed six-speed Tremec gearbox, AP Racing twin plate clutch, more power and the most torque produced for any Australian production car.

The difference is a lot of coin, but the extra spend seems to be worth it.

For starters you know you're on to something when you are, well, almost quicker than The Boss. At least from standstill to 100km/h the Typhoon creates a storm by nailing the dash in 6.3sec. The GT armed with the Boss 290kW V8 engine covers the same exercise in roughly the same time, but the tests were done on a back road and not in the controlled environment of a racetack so they are only a guide.

The 270kW and 550Nm of the Typhoon is a whirlwind of excitement and aggression complete with the audible waste-gate flutter that gives the hyper six a consuming character like the deep rumble of the GT.

What is so impressive about the Typhoon is that all this extra power and torque is useable because the work done underneath on the suspension took a similar direction as the GT, but with the aforementioned stiffer rear springs. Also the brakes, 325x32mm twin-grooved and ventilated up front and 303x16mm twin-grooved solid rear rotors with twin-pot calipers appear to be up to matching the Typhoon's fury.

For almost $6000 more, you can order the optional Brembos but there is probably no need unless you are going to be driving like you stole it every time you press the dash-mounted starter button borrowed from the GT. The ride is surprisingly compliant considering the stiffening needed to cope with the extra power and torque.

It fires into corners with confidence, turning in quicker than the GT because there is less weight hanging about underneath the bonnet. There seems to be a reasonable grip threshold before the traction control, which you can deactivate, kicks in. The high performance 18-inch Dunlop SP9000s take a while to howl and squeal in protest, offering ample sticking quality in both wet and dry conditions. There is a blissfully horizontal torque curve with the 550Nm accessed from as low as 2000rpm through to 4250rpm. Linked to the four-litre straight six is the Tremec six-speed which Holden uses in its V8s. The Tremec in the Typhoon has been reworked with short travel changes and the six gears are easy to navigate and engage.

There is virtually no lag and the boost comes in big meaty dollops, rather than the delay-before-neck-snapping jolt of some smaller imported turbos.

In short, the Typhoon goes, steers and stops like it is $12,600 more than the standard turbo.

But don't expect too much pampering in the cabin. There is no leather, with unique cloth sports seats supporting the occupants.

Dual gauges are mounted on the dash that display oil pressure and turbo boost, dual-zone air-con and large command centre display screen.

The sound system packs a 150-watt amp, subwoofer and in-dash six-stack CD.

Fuel consumption is probably not much of a consideration for most buyers of these force-fed guzzlers but it is worth pointing out that the Typhoon was getting just under 400km a tank on this predominantly open highway test.

Harder running and driving in stop/start bursts around busy roads will reduce that figure even further.

* FPV engineers have addressed a problem with the twin-plate clutch which could not cope with the load after some drivers persisted with flat-changing.