FPV Pursuit Reviews

Ford delivered some good news this week with confirmation that the Focus will be manufactured at its Campbellfield assembly plant in Melbourne from 2011.It is a ray of hope for the workforce of around 5000 left at Ford Australia following the decision last week to cease production of its six-cylinder engine plant in Geelong at the cost of 600 jobs.The Focus development will add 300 jobs and help secure Ford's future in Australia.The Focus small car which is currently sold in Australia is sourced from South Africa with that operation told the news on Monday that it will no longer make the Focus post 2010.Australia will make hatch and sedan variants for right-hand-drive markets only with South Africa and New Zealand the initial recipients of an export program that will grow with more countries announced closer to the start of assembly in Melbourne.“It's a big opportunity for our local supply base as well as a big opportunity for us,” Ford Australia president Tom Gorman said.“As you can imagine this is a watershed announcement for us.”The Victorian and Federal governments will contribute $20 million each to the project where petrol and diesel Focuses will be made in Australia with imported powertrains. It is expected volume will reach 40,000 a year with 25,000 for Australia and the rest exported.There remains a chance Focus production could overtake Falcon numbers.“You have to keep a close eye on that,” Gorman said. “If we can pick up our volume in terms of overall market share with the Focus it's conceivable.“But at the moment what I like is that we have four very strong products . . . still a very important Falcon, Ute and a very important Territory and from 2011 it will be a very important Focus.”The small car market in Australia has more than doubled on the numbers when Ford pulled the plug on its Laser in 1998 which the Focus ended up replacing when it first arrived here in September 2002.“Ten years ago the small car market was less than 100,000 units and it will probably be 220,000-225,000 at the end of this year.”Ford says engineering and design for future Focus models will continue to be driven out of Europe.But there could be a chance for Ford Australia to have a greater say in product development providing Focus can grow with the “localisation” of the product.“We are a major player in Focus not only in the region but globally,” Gorman said.“I think as we raise our volume and we do better in terms of market penetration we can expect to have more of an input.”Gorman has ruled out niche variations of the Focus for Australian production but admits there is an opening for the Ford Performance Vehicles arm to develop a fresh warmed-over variant along the lines of the current XR5.“With FPV we've always talked to them about extending their reach,” Gorman added.“There is nothing to say we wouldn't have some desire to do stuff with FPV outside of the Falcon and Falcon Ute.“Once you localise, it gives you a whole range of opportunities that don't exist today.”Gorman defended the timing of the Focus deal, saying that it was not signed off until last Friday, two days after the grim news about the Geelong engine plant.“We weren't in a position to finalise the project until Friday.“It's a little early to judge morale (within Ford).“We're trying to be sensitive to the fact we made a very difficult announcement last Wednesday and there are 600 people whose lives have been dealt a little bit of a shock . . . more than a little, a big shock.“We're going to be working with them carefully on redeployment and retraining where necessary.“It's not a feeling of there's a big celebration here at the moment.“I'd say it's relatively muted at the moment given that we made a tough announcement last week.”

The Force models are upmarket equivalents of the turbocharged Typhoon and V8 powered GT, minus the overt styling Instead of a big rear spoiler and loud paint job, you get a restrained, more conservative look – a Fairmont Ghia with the works.Our test car was the FPV Force 6 priced from $71,590, almost $10,000 more than the Typhoon. Finished in a chromatic dark green called Deja-vu, it looks almost black in some lighting conditions.We clocked up almost 2000km behind the wheel in a week-long Riverina odyssey. The fast Ford is a great choice for long distance slogs, with plenty of power, comfort and a big boot for luggage. But with sports suspension and low profile tyres, the ride can be harsh depending on the road surface.The Force 6 gets the same turbocharged 4.0-litre straight six as Typhoon, with an impressive 270kW of power and 550Nm of torque. It’s only available with the ZF 6-speed sequential auto (nothing wrong with that), which also gets you the adjustable driver’s pedals that go with it.Suffice to say the car goes like stink and is actually quite frugal if driven carefully. It takes premium unleaded as a minimum and with fuel economy, officially rated at 13.0 litres/ 100km, dropped to a low of 9.6 litres/100km after about 600km of steady driving.Interestingly, we decided to refill the car with E10 ethanol enhanced fuel after finding it’s cited as OK with its higher 95 RON octane rating. Subsequent economy, however, was 11.2 litres/100km, dropping briefly to 11.1. It goes to show that you use more of the stuff and doesn’t really justify the 10c a litre that we saved at the bowser.For a car that’s going to cost $75,000 by the time it’s on the road we expected a little more in the equipment department. You get leather, dual zone air as well as front and side airbags for the driver and front passenger.Traction control is fitted but it’s not as sophisticated as the dynamic stability control fitted to ordinary Falcons. Performance is supremely confident, with the ability to overtake at will – when and where you like.Lights, including fog lights, provide plenty of illumination for night driving in the country. Ultra low profile 35 series tyres make a din like rain on a tin roof on coarse bitumen.

Mitsubishi, Ford and Holden all showed off production or concept cars that are designed to move fast and get the blood pumping.But the big news came from Toyota, which launched its new TRD performance brand in Australia at the show.The launch of TRD represents first time Toyota has marketed under the TRD banner anywhere in the world. It is timed to celebrate the car manufacturer’s 50th anniversary of involvement in motorsport globally.Several models sporting new TRD livery were unveiled at the show, including an Aurion and a HiLux concept car. There are several more models on the way.Also previewed at the Toyota stand was the new Corolla hatch and a new Corolla rally car, which is based on the new production model to be launched soon.Mitsubishi opened the show with a Lancer concept “Sportback”.But Ford and Holden went all-out in the performance stakes. Ford revealed a new Fiesta XR4 which will be on sale in July this year. It will feature a variant with a two-litre diesel engine – the first diesel car to grace Ford Australia’s line-up.Also on show was a 40th Anniversary GT from FPV.Holden tried to top that with the unveiling of a Chevrolet Camaro concept car which attracted great interest from the assembled press. It was the first time this car had been seen in Australia.The company said although there are no plans to launch the Camaro here, it was on the stand in Melbourne to gauge customer reaction. The implication was that if interest is strong enough it may launch here.

The latest move by Ford Performance Vehicles is a pair of "stealth" performers — Force 6 and Force 8.With far more subtle styling, badging and body kits, the incognito V8 Force 8 and turbo six Force 6 are, as one pundit described it, a GT and Typhoon with their zips done up."I have no doubt that the Force models will find particular favour with corporate executives who want an Australian-built alternative to European luxury marques," FPV boss Sak Ryopponen says. "Many executives want the performance of these cars but feel a little uncomfortable putting the more overt performance models in the staff carpark."Ryoppenen says he is confident that recent fuel-price fluctuations and contractions in the large-car market will have no long-term effect on luxury performance vehicles provided current fuel-price improvements can be stabilised through Christmas and New Year.The Force cars headline a range of minor changes to the full model line-up in keeping with the Ford BF MkII mid-life freshen. Joining the GT-P as the flagship of the FPV range, the Force 6 will retail for $71,590 and the Force 8 $71,990.The full FPV range starts with the F6 Tornado at $54,170 and the F6 Typhoon at $61,810. The V8 GT is $62,210, while the GT-P sits at $70,410.In the ute line, the Pursuit is $54,170 while the Super Pursuit is priced at $59,200. Under the bonnet of the Force 8 is the quad cam 5.4-litre Boss 290 V8 with 290kW@5500rpm and a rumbling 520Nm of torque peaking at 4500rpm.Force 6 is driven by the intercooled F6 270 Turbo in-line six, which punches out 270kW of power at 5250rpm and a flat-bed 550Nm of torque from 2000-4250rpm.Both come with four-piston front and single-piston rear Brembo brakes — an upgrade to the six-piston front and four-piston rear is optional. The 19-inch alloys are shod with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx rubber, standard on the FPV range.A limited-slip differential, sports-tuned suspension, a subtle body kit, including a lip spoiler on the boot, specific embossed leather interior. performance steering wheel, a prestige audio system, adjustable pedal box and dark wood trim. On the road the Force cars behave exactly as you'd expect.FPV's widely-praised poise and steering feel is still at the top of the list of ticks.The weighting of the steering is just right with neither vagueness nor undue heaviness. The ride on the new 19-inch rims and Dunlop rubber over some seriously unsettling surfaces was — if not plush — certainly comfortable enough to be worthy of comment. The damping was outstanding.And of the two cars, while the Boss offers the rumbling power promise of a traditional bent eight, it is still the brilliant straight six turbo that lights up the range.Enlarge the garageThe boys at FPV are being more coy than a blushing bride on wedding night, but mention a high-performance Territory and you can see the sparkle."There is no program approval for a Territory," FPV boss Sak Ryopponen says with a straight face — a demeanour that dissolves into a wide grin when the question of whether program approval is in the process of being sought. "Every project is on the table and new ideas being canvassed all the time."We would certainly like to do something with the Territory but whether it would be commercially viable is the question."What I would say is that we have satisfied ourselves that we can do it."Having launched the performance badge in 2002 — stepping into the shoes of Tickford Engineering — with just three models, the GT, GT-P and Pursuit Ute, FPV has been on a rapid growth program.In October 2004 the F6 Typhoon launched amid clutch reliability issues, followed in April 2005 by the F6 Tornado. In July of the same year the ute family grew to include the Super Pursuit and with the launch of the Force 6 and Force 8, the model range has trebled in four years."If I had to nominate a number that would be a good model garage I suppose 10 comes to mind," Ryopponen says.Just enough room for a Territory.

Holden has re-engineered and re-aligned its entire performance car range with the introduction of the VE Commodore, introducing a new model – the SS V – as the performance flagship.In response, Ford has upped the ante on the BF Falcon and its highperformance Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) derivatives.And if that's not enough, 2006 saw Chrysler introduce the stove-hot 6.1-litre V8 powered 300C SRT8, which represents the biggest and most powerful V8 engine you can buy in a muscle car today.HOLDEN COMMODORE PERFORMANCE MODELSHolden's flagship muscle car gets a new designation with VE – it's called the SS V. Below that is the SS, which roughly equates to the outgoing VZ Commodore's SV8 model. And, at the entry level is the SV6, which gets the high-output version of the 3.6-litre V6.There's no mistaking the performance intent of SS V, with its huge wheel arches, in-your-face front air dam and purposeful rear wing. Inside is a new touch – a racestyle flat-bottomed steering wheel and jet fighter-style instrumentation.It's powered by the L98 6.0-litre V8 producing peak outputs of 270kW (5700rpm) and 530Nm (4400rpm).(VE's engine is very closely related to the VZ's L76 6.0-litre, which produced 260kW and 510Nm.) The L98 is standard on SS and SSV (it's a $4700 option elsewhere in the range). What's changed dramatically is chassis refinement. The VE performance models offer levels of turn-in, steering feedback, grip and driver involvement that's up there with some very capable Euro cars – most of which can't hold a candle to 270kW either.SS V rides on 19-inch five-spoke alloys shod with 245/40 Bridgestone Potenzas, while SS and SV6 share 18-inch slotted five-spoke alloys and 245/45 Potenzas.SS and SS V are available with six-speed transmissions – both the manual and auto are six-speeders – and the auto is a slick-shifting masterpiece. SV6 gets either a sixspeed manual or five-speed auto.You want performance? Both V8 models will shatter six seconds to 100km/h and go on to annihilate 14secs for the standing 400m.Comparable times for the SV6 are 7.5 and 15.5sec respectively. Quite simply, the new VE doesn't hang around.HSV has an over-riding desire: To stand alongside elite luxury brands like BMW and Audi with its head held high. And now, with its VE Commodorederived vehicles, it can. The brand wants – needs – customers to see it as a stand-alone marque, separate to Holden.The new E-Series GTS and Senator are exactly the right vehicles for those buyers. GTS is boldly a performance car, rolling on massive 20-inch alloys (the biggest ever fitted to an Australian production car) and equally huge tyres.Rears are massive 275/30 section Bridgestones, while fronts are 245/35. The slightly more subtle and rounded Senator has Europe even more directly in its sights – and cars like the BMW 5-Series need to be worried.Visually stunning without being gaudy, both are instantly differentiated visually from Holden's lineup. Power and torque are up, albeit modestly, to 307kW (from Holden's 270) and 550Nm (Holden: 530).But the biggest news with these cars is at each corner, beneath theskin. They share something with the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and new Audi TT – HSV's elite entrants boast Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) suspension.This allows them to change from ultra-taut supreme handling machines to super-smooth cruisers at the flick of a microchip.HSV's entry-level E-Series offering – Clubsport – lacks the miracle of MRC, but it packs exactly the same underbonnet punch as GTS and Senator.Priced in the early-$60,000s, it's around $12,000 easier to slip into – about midway between Holden's SS V and HSV's GTS.FPVNothing Holden can offer in the sixcylinder department can hold a candle to Ford's prowess with tweaking big kilowatts from its in-line 4.0-litre six.Producing an amazing 245kW in standard trim inside Falcon XR6 Turbo, thanks to a turbocharger with intercooler, Ford Performance Vehicles ups that to 270kW in its hi-tech F6 Tornado ute and Typhoon sedan.That's more power than the straight six-powered BMW M3, and although the Beamer lacks a hairdryer, there is the not-so small matter of the $80,000 extra, above the price of the Typhoon, you must spend to acquire one.FPV's Force 8 is powered by the quad cam 5.4-litre Boss 290 V8, which manages near-HSV outputs despite having 600cc less engine capacity.FPV's 'Force' models, like HSV's offerings, are aimed squarely at corporate executives who want an Australian-built alternative to European luxury marques, according to Ford boss Tom Gorman.Both FPV models are available exclusively with the world-renowned, slick-shifting ZF 6HP26 high-torque six-speed automatic transmission, which manages to snatch sophisticated shifts in the face of awesome grunt from both engines. Both models also boast supreme stopping power thanks to Brembo brakes – four-piston callipers at the front and single-piston callipers at the rear. An even more powerful Brembo brake system with six-piston front callipers and four-piston rears is optional.CHRYSLER 300C SRT8If you really, really want to stand out in a performance car, plant your rear end in one of these babies. The Chrysler Street and Racing Technology (SRT) version the 300C knows no equals, and boasts exclusivity-factor up to here.With a class-leading 317kW and a 0-100km/h time in the mid-five-second range, plus a competitive $71,990 pricetag, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 is the first SRT vehicle to be powered by a 6.1-litre Hemi V8, which offers not only Australia's biggest muscle car engine, but 25 per cent more power than the 5.7-litre standard engine.With 20-inch alloy wheels, performance-tuned suspension and Brembo brakes, the 300C SRT8 is engineered with stopping power to match its incredible capacity to accelerate.Since going on sale in its 5.7-litre V8 and 3.5-litre V6 guise the 300C has carved an unprecedented 30 per cent share in the sub-$100,000 large segment. The 300C SRT8 is the second SRT branded vehicle to be sold in Australia, joining the high performance Crossfire SRT6.The 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8 connects with the road via a new wheel and tyre assembly consisting of 20-inch forged alloy wheels shod with high-performance Goodyear F1 245/45 (front) and 255/45 (rear) threeseason asymmetrical tyres.Power-adjustable sport seats with suede inserts are standard up front – they're heated, naturally, and come with memory functions.

THERE could be a future movie star waiting to be discovered in your garage. A sports management company has branched out to find cars for movies, television shows and ads.Vantage Management opened its Star Cars arm last month and wants to expand its books. It's now looking for some new talent, director Shan Railton says.He says someone could have the next "General Lee" or "Mad Max Interceptor" parked in their driveway."If you think about all the ads on telly or the movies or even basic photos for magazines, they all have to come from somewhere," Railton says."The criteria is any car or thing you couldn't find in a standard car lot or rent from Avis. It might be a classic or something rare, or something outrageous. It could be a new FPV or Monaro, a WRX or an old Dodge pick-up."The cars don't even have to be in good condition. We needed a car for someone who was supposed to be down and out, and the car had to match. All we can say is we probably don't need any white Commodores, unless it's a 1978 white Commodore in perfect condition."Railton says Star Cars works much the same way as a fashion model agency. Vantage gets a call from a film or magazine production company and checks its books for a car to match. Once a match is found, Vantage works out a deal.Its cut is 17.5 per cent as an agent fee. The owner's only commitment is to turn up with the car at the agreed time and place."If you have a car that fits our very wide criteria, there is no reason why you wouldn't register it," Railton says. "It costs owners nothing except their car's time."If someone wanted to use your car I'd get a brief of where, when and who is going to drive it. We email that info to the owner and it's up to them to say yes or no within a certain time."Some production companies want their own people to drive the car, but that, of course, has to be part of the contract. And someone on our books who doesn't want to accept a job, doesn't have to."Railton says the system works for everyone. Production companies save time and money and clients can make money. How much usually depends on the value of the car."It's a sliding scale based on the insurance value of the car and the job," Railton says."We had a job involving street machines on the Gold Coast, but there had to be 80s cars and they had to be American. That job was $400 a day for each car, and they were just parked on the street. That's about the cheapest job because it's not worth it to us or our clients to do it for less than that."At the other end of the spectrum, we had a car used for three months. The production company spent $30,000 fully restoring it, then paid the owner $15,000 for the job."Feature film work (Vantage found cars for House of Wax, which starred Paris Hilton) makes up about a third of all Star Car jobs.The balance is split between TV shows, ads and magazine photo shoots.So you think your car is up to it? Check www.vantagemanagement.com.au

That may be shocking in a good way, or a bad way, but whichever way, there is no mistaking the car in the traffic. And there was no better case in point than the Ford Performance Vehicles GT in its aptly named shade of Toxic.People laughed and pointed, some joked with friends — and there were those who appeared to like the electric, Kermit-green colour. But we had thick skin and tinted windows and when the right foot hit the throttle it suddenly didn't matter what people thought.The GT starts from $62,210 for the manual. The car we tested came to $68,000 with the slick new six-speed automatic for $1250, stripes for $595, an extra $2795 for leather, a $950 performance steering wheel and $200 floor mats.The GT comes with a 5.4-litre quad cam 32-valve V8 under the bonnet that produces 290kW of power at 5500 revs and 520Nm of torque at 4500 revs.In "D", the six-speed auto is smooth with quick changes and is rarely left hunting.Flick it to the left and up comes PERF (performance) on the LCD display. The performance mode is a more aggressive automatic mode. Gear changes are held longer on the upshift, the intuitive system avoids nasty shifts in cornering and gears are held under braking.Move the lever forward or back and the transmission goes into manual mode.Push forward for a down-shift, pull back for an upshift. The result is simple (and fast) no-clutch gear changes.In the city the lack of the usually heavy V8 clutch made peak hour a lot more comfortable for the left leg.The BF's auto allows drivers to hold gears at redline without changing in manual.It does, however, have an in-built feature that allows for the need to punch quickly while cruising. An aggressive stamp on the accelerator will have the box searching for the meat of the torque curve to provide maximum urge.With traction control as a standard feature, grip in the wet is a lot more substantial than the previous model, making it easier to get the power on to the black stuff.It will still spin the wheels but the driver is not battling quite as much to keep it in a straight line. If you want to play, the traction control is switchable.What a disappointment it was to find the gentle rocking-at-idle of the previous model no longer exists.While it may seem a small thing, it was one of those delights that make V8s such a visceral experience. This feature has apparently been tuned out to meet new emission regulations. Despite the re-tuning, the GT has not lost the rumbling V8 note that turns into a wailing monster with little prompting.While the GT feels heavy on a tight road, it has a crisp turn-in and not too much body roll.On the open road it is a comfortable cruiser.Tyre noise was more intrusive than expected. And, as time went on, the tyre noise became more apparent rather than fading into the background.The big Brembo calipers and ventilated discs mean the GT stops time and time again, without hint of fading.On the outside, there is no mistaking the GT's pedigree from front to rear.The fog lamps with satin chrome surrounds, sculptured side skirts, three-pillar spoiler, V8 Supercar-inspired tri-slot front splitter and the new rear fascia with the beefy twin exhausts make sure there is no mistaking the GT is a GT from any angle.Care has to be taken, however, when entering or exiting driveways and moving over speed humps because of the tendency of the spoiler to scrub.Inside, the GT's reflective-style silver stitching on the trim looks cheap but the hugging four-way electrically adjustable driver's seat is comfortable and supportive.For $950, the sports steering wheel is more comfortable than the standard XR8-style offering but still unnecessarily chunky.The on-board computer showed an average of 19.4 litres of fuel used every 100km but that was mainly city driving. The optional stripe package should be standard on the GT, as it is on the GT-P, because it makes the car look more like the animal it can be.

But this is the 21st century and things have changed. Today, even the born-again Falcon GT is better as an automatic. Yes, truly.We have driven the latest car from Ford Performance Vehicles and we would choose the six-speed automatic ahead of the traditional manual.Even Ferrari has moved away from old-style manual shifts to the latest generation of Formula One-inspired manu-matics.Volkswagen's Golf GTi, with its breakthrough Double Shaft Gearbox, shows what can be done when you apply technology and automatic programming to a manual gearbox.Ford has made a similar switch with its latest ZF automatic gearbox, which is about as good as it gets in the self-shifting world.The imported gearbox has just been fitted across the BF Falcon range, right up to the king of the hill, the GT-P.It comes with the promise of silky shifts and the chance to still go manual with a touch-change mode. This means a forward push for a downshift and a slight backwards tug to move up a gear.There is a lot more than the self-shifting six-speed to the BF upgrade at FPV, but the gearbox is the star.FPV spent a lot of time, money and effort on the upgrade. Much effort was concentrated on the new-age turbo twins, the F6 Typhoon and the Tornado, but the GT and the GT-P also came in for significant makeovers.Each has a new look with a fresh, more aggressive front, upgraded brakes, 19-inch alloy wheels, twin-outlet exhaust, extra engine electronics and even a wider selection of new-look stripes along the sides.It's easy to see the changes and the GT and GT-P really stand out.The timing is good because Holden is winding down its Monaro program. There will still be HSV coupes next year, but the muscle-car pacesetter is going.FPV managing director David Flint says: "The BF FPV range represents a significant step forward in performance, safety, efficiency and, most importantly, the fun of driving."These cars are fabulous and continue to deliver on our brand promise of providing great-value, high-performance vehicles."Those are big promises, but the GT has been a favourite of ours since it returned to the Ford catalogue, and we were keen to get into the '05 update car.WE WERE so impressed when we first drove the GT that we gave it a score of 19/20.And there is still a lot to like in the latest FPV GT-P.The engine is eager and has more than enough go for any job, the ride is sublime, and the new look makes a suitable impact.It is a great car to hustle down through a favourite set of curves, and the brakes — now with six-piston Brembo calipers from Italy inside the front alloys — are great.The gearbox is just plain fantastic. It means you don't have to suffer a series of leg-press exercises on the clutch in traffic or fight with a heavy manual shift.Yet it still has six well-spread ratios and the chance to take full manual control. Sweet.It should be the first choice with every Falcon buyer, from the XT right through to the GT-P. But . . .The GT-P was a disappointment in several areas and the car has slipped back on our ratings scale, despite the latest improvements.How can that be, particularly when it has so much good stuff?First, the GT-P test car had totally unacceptable tyre noise. At first we thought the boot was open, because there was so much drumming, but it seems to be a reaction between the grippy Dunlop rubber and coarse-chip country roads.John Bowe, who has done a lot of development driving for FPV, believes that earlier harsh treatment — which would have "feathered" the edges of the tread blocks in the tyres — could have caused the problem.We also found the driver's seat was set far too high, even on the lowest setting.FP-V says this is a problem, and believes it could be down to the six electric motors used for seat adjustment in the GT-P, which has a noticeably higher seat position than the GT.We also missed the raunchy rocking at idle, which has been tuned out of the quad-cam V8 to meet new emission regulations, and found the fuel consumption was far too easy to push beyond 17 litres/100km with keen driving.Still, the GT-P is a very good car and the six-speed auto makes it more enjoyable for more of the time.But we came to the hot Falcon at the same time that one of the last Monaro coupes was running through the test garage — and the Ford did not match the Holden for feedback and seat-of-the-pants driving enjoyment.It is a sublimely enjoyable muscle car, and never better as an automatic, but it just didn't ring our bells.

It's similar to the sedan but has a different rear suspension, longer wheelbase, ute back and weighs a bit more.But the essentials are the same – 5.4-litre, DOHC, V8 with 290kW/520Nm output and it's available with a six speed manual or optional six speed auto.One for the fast worker.Superb performance especially in the higher rev range – not as much a "wild thing" as F6 Turbo Tornado. Six speed auto a worthwhile addition for just $1250, almost as quick as the manual, easier to drive in the city. Twin outlet exhausts look the business, sound unreal. Optional hard tonneau cover gives sleeker look, quieter too and carries neat wing. Additional security, has imposing bulge to match bonnet bulge. Engine management changes on BF model allow engine to meet Euro 3 emissions regs. Brakes are the best in the business – six pot Brembos up front, opposing piston Brembos down the back. Traction control a welcome addition to all FPV utes, reduces possibility of unexpected lurid, tail out oversteer. New stripes stop short of bonnet and roof but lift the appearance. There's no mistaking Super Pursuit for anything else. Has new 19in alloys with ultra low profile Dunlop SO9000 rubber – sticks like glue, steers like a race car. Auto's sequential shift mode is fun, operates the right way – away for down, pull back for up changes. Interior has minor upgrade with BF, looks good – metallic fascia, sexy upholstery with deeply bostered seats – hard squabs though. Opening hard tonneau is a pain – two key operated latches. Limits load carrying capacity – not that you'd carry anything in a high performance vehicle such as this. Not bad on the juice – 13.0L/100km average is achievable. Costs more than $10,000 less than GT-P sedan.VerdictImpressive package, not as entertaining as the F6 Tornado turbo six. Sounds better, looks fabulous. Not for work - just a show pony.

Although, don't be surprised if it makes a song and dance about having a couple of extra ratios in hand without needing to operate a clutch pedal.The BF FPV range is now blessed with the six-speed automatic transmission and has mated it nicely to the two powerplants in its range, the 5.4-litre V8 and turbo six.We're getting to know the range-topping sedan, the V8 six-speed auto GT-P, with plenty of grunt and a full load of equipment.The heart of the matter is a 5.4-litre quad-cam 32-valve V8 that produces one of the most delicious V8 burbles delivered by a road-going vehicle.The silken, creamy V8 rumble turns into a sensational wail without hesitation, with the new top end of the Ford bent-eight helping it to breathe deeply and deliver.When driven in isolation – without the awesome 550Nm of the Ford Typhoon to put it to shame – the V8's 520Nm of torque gives the GT-P an easy gait and pulls high gears up long inclines without fuss. But the peak of 4500rpm doesn't help it deliver the low-down shove of the 550Nm Typhoon or the HSV LS2's 530Nm.What the GT-P does do is put the outputs to good use with the new automatic transmission. While the manual and auto gearboxes in both the old Ford and current Holden V8 products are far from slick to use, this auto delivers the best of both worlds – so much so that this committed manual gearbox fan would be opting for the $1250 six-speeder behind either FPV powerplant.In "D", it's a smooth, quick-changing transmission that makes the best use of the outputs, with a flick to the left upping the ante and bringing PERF (performance) up on the gear-indicator LCD display.That doesn't degrade the shift quality but it does make the shift pattern markedly more aggressive, changing down under braking and holding gears longer as required.Manual shifts are performed in the direction of the inertia of the vehicle – down-changes are performed by pushing the lever forward (the weight-shift direction under brakes) with the upshifts complete by pulling back (under acceleration), the right direction.Changing gears in the manual mode won't be overridden by the gearbox unless the throttle is pushed through the detente at the end of its travel – Ford has deemed this an emergency override feature.The ability to hold gearshifts and not be overridden prevents unsettling upshifts mid-corner, something BMW, Mercedes-Benz and a few others should realise.For a car that weighs 1855kg, the GT-P is light on its feet. It still feels a little heavy in some of the tighter corners, but bowling along a windy, flowing country road has the GT-P in its element.It stops sharply again and again, thanks to the big Brembo calipers and ventilated discs, turning in crisply without too much body roll and faithfully following the instructed line.Grip is considerable and the rear end (with the traction control switched off) is difficult (but not impossible) to shake loose.It can cruise comfortably as well, with a decent ride quality, but it's far more enjoyable with the V8's hackles up.The cabin trim may not be to all tastes but it is a comfortable interior for occupants, with drivers below 180cm tall able to use the electrically adjustable seats, the reach'n'rake adjustable steering and the adjustable pedals to get comfortable. At 191cm, I adopted a stooped driving posture, which was required to get decent forward vision – the seats are mounted too high, due to the extra electric seat motors. If you're tall, spend less and option up a GT.The extroverts can spend $595 for orange stripes, combining with the "Menace" purple paintwork to great effect. The high-quality premium sound system – complete with subwoofer – also makes sure the GT-P is noticed, being louder than the paintwork and stripes The only niggles were the optional satellite navigation system that sporadically wouldn't read the mapping DVD and the lack of a footrest for the left foot.Committed V8 fans will happily forgo the Typhoon's torque for the sake of the power bulge in the bonnet and the burble beneath it – and it's easy to see why – but I'd be opting for two fewer cylinders and a turbo.