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Ford has revived the famous "351" badge from the 1970s for the last ever Falcon GT, as the company confirms that all 500 examples have sold out before the first one has been built.The 351 badge is a reference to the supercharged V8's power in kilowatts, but also a nod to size of the V8 in the iconic 1970s model. It will be the most powerful Falcon to ever be built at Broadmeadows when the GT-F (for "final" edition) goes into production next month."I am delighted to confirm that we are going to deliver what our fans have being asking for: a vehicle that pays homage to the iconic Falcon 351 GT," said Ford Australia President and CEO, Bob Graziano, in a statement to media."Ford's 5.0-litre supercharged V8 is an absolute state-of-the-art V8 performance engine, and in the up-coming GT-F sedan will deliver more power and torque than even its larger capacity forebear. And we've been able to do all of this by simply unlocking the latent performance that's already there."All 500 Falcon GT-F sedans destined for Australia (and 50 for New Zealand) have been sold to dealers and most cars already have customer names against them.Dealers are now bargaining among themselves to try to get more cars because Ford has said it will not build more than 500. "Ford has massively under-called this," said one dealer, who asked not to be named in case it would affect his allocation of cars. "This is a massive missed opportunity."When Ford unveiled a special batch of "Cobra" edition Falcon GTs at the 2007 Bathurst 1000 -- to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Allan Moffat and Colin Bond 1-2 finish -- all 400 cars were sold to dealers within 48 hours.Dealers insist that all Falcon GT-Fs are being sold at the recommended retail price, of $77,990 plus on-road costs. "We're not allowed to charge over-the-odds for them, but they are all going out at full price," said one Ford dealer. "There is not a dollar coming off these cars because someone else will snap it up."There will be five colours available, including two that will be exclusive to the GT-F -- a bright blue and a gun-metal grey. And all cars will come with a unique sticker pack.Ford has also confirmed the GT-F will be based on the limited edition R-Spec version of the Falcon GT released 18 months ago, just before Ford Performance Vehicles closed its doors and Ford Australia took over the skeleton of the operation, namely the engine building team.The GT-F is expected to be the fastest Falcon GT ever built. Thanks to its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 and wider rear tyres to help it blast off the line with a race-car style "launch" control, it should be able to do the 0 to 100km/h dash in 4.5 seconds.Once the 351kW Falcon GT-F goes, the 335kW Ford XR8 will be introduced with the updated Falcon range from September 2014, until Australia's oldest automotive nameplate reaches the end of the line no later than October 2016.Carsguide has been told there were secret plans to make the power output for the last-ever Falcon GT significantly higher than the 351kW high note it will finish on.Confidential sources claim the now defunct Ford Performance Vehicles had extracted 430kW of power from the supercharged V8 while it was in development, but those plans were vetoed by Ford because of concerns about reliability -- and the ability of the Falcon's chassis, gearbox, driveshaft and differential to handle so much grunt."We were at 430kW long before anyone knew HSV was going to have 430kW on the new GTS," said an insider. "But in the end, Ford put the brakes on it. We could get the power easy enough, but they reckoned it didn't make financial sense to make all the changes to the rest of the car to handle it."As it stands today the Falcon GT briefly gets up to 375kW in an "overboost" mode which lasts up to 20 seconds, but Ford is not allowed to claim this figure because it doesn't comply with international testing guidelines.Meanwhile, the last of the Ford Performance Vehicles F6 sedans are due to be sold, with no more planned for production. "Once the dealer stocks sell out, that's it," said Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald. The fastest-ever six-cylinder turbo car made in Australia, the Falcon F6 won icon status among enthusiasts, and police.In NSW, the elite highway patrol squad has maintained a fleet of unmarked F6 Falcons to target hoon drivers and high-speed criminals over the past four years. They are expected to switch to HSV Clubsport sedans when the F6 comes to an end.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

FORD has sold all 500 examples of the last ever Falcon GT before the first one has even been built -- and dealers and enthusiast buyers are pleading for more.All 500 Falcon GT-F (for "final" edition) sedans destined for Australia have been wholesaled to dealers and most cars already have customer names against them.Even though Ford built an extra 50 GT-Fs for New Zealand -- and 120 special edition "Pursuit" utes -- dealers say Ford has not built enough GT sedans and have asked for the number to be doubled.But Ford says there will be no more because it is restricted by how many supercharged V8s it can assemble by hand at a temporary assembly area alongside the six-cylinder engine line in Geelong."Ford has massively under-called this," said one dealer, who asked not to be named in case it would affect his allocation of cars. "This is a massive missed opportunity. I really don't think Ford understands the enthusiast market."When Ford unveiled a special batch of "Cobra" edition Falcon GTs at the 2007 Bathurst 1000 -- to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Allan Moffat and Colin Bond 1-2 finish -- all 400 cars were wholesaled to dealers within 48 hours."Did they learn nothing from that experience," said another Ford dealer, who also asked to remain anonymous. "The Cobras sold out in a flash and they weren't the last ones ever. This Falcon GT is the last one ever, the least they could have done was given more people the opportunity to buy a car."Dealers insist that all Falcon GT-Fs are being sold at the recommended retail price, of $77,990 plus on-road costs. "We're not allowed to charge over-the-odds for them, but they are all going out at full price," said one Ford dealer. "There is not a dollar coming off these cars because someone else will snap it up." Dealers are also concerned because, they say, Ford got the mix of manual versus automatic transmissions wrong.The GT-F build is reportedly 62 per cent automatic and 38 per cent manual, but Ford dealers say this figure should have been reversed because enthusiast buyers favour manual transmissions.For its part, Ford says that over the life of the modern Falcon GT, manual transmissions have accounted for only 26 per cent of sales. "All the manuals are gone," said one Ford dealer. "If you want one now, you've got to take an automatic and not be picky with colour."However, contrary to dealer feedback, Ford Australia has told Carsguide that there is time to increase the mix of manual variants before production starts within the next two months.There will be five colours available, including two that will be exclusive to the GT-F -- a bright blue and a gun-metal grey. And all cars will come with a unique sticker pack.Ford is yet to release photos or details of the Falcon GT-F; it is due to be unveiled in June. The GT-F is expected to carry the 351 badge, a reference to its power output in kilowatts but also a nod to size of the V8 in the iconic 1970s Falcon GT-HO.Ford says the GT-F will be based on the limited edition R-Spec version of the Falcon GT released 18 months ago, just before Ford Performance Vehicles closed its doors and Ford Australia took over the skeleton of the operation, namely the engine building team.The GT-F is expected to be the fastest Falcon GT ever built. Thanks to its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 and wider rear tyres to help it blast off the line with a race-car style "launch" control, it should be able to do the 0 to 100km/h dash in 4.5 seconds.Once the 351kW Falcon GT-F goes, the 335kW Ford XR8 will be introduced with the updated Falcon range from September 2014, until Australia's oldest automotive nameplate reaches the end of the line no later than October 2016.As reported earlier, Carsguide has been told there were secret plans to make the power output for the last-ever Falcon GT significantly higher than the 351kW high note it will finish on.Confidential sources claim the now defunct Ford Performance Vehicles had extracted 430kW of power from the supercharged V8 while it was in development, but those plans were vetoed by Ford because of concerns about reliability -- and the ability of the Falcon's chassis, gearbox, driveshaft and differential to handle so much grunt."We were at 430kW long before anyone knew HSV was going to have 430kW on the new GTS," said an insider. "But in the end, Ford put the brakes on it. We could get the power easy enough, but they reckoned it didn't make financial sense to make all the changes to the rest of the car to handle it."As it stands today the Falcon GT briefly gets up to 375kW in an "overboost" mode which lasts up to 20 seconds, but Ford is not allowed to claim this figure because it doesn't comply with international testing guidelines.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

FORD is poised to revive the famous 351 nameplate for the final edition of the iconic GT Falcon -- a move that will finally end all hopes and secret plans for a modern-day version of the GT-HO.Rather than describing the cubic capacity of the V8 engine of the iconic 1970 model -- at the time the fastest sedan in the world -- the 351 numbers this time around refer to the upgraded power output of the Falcon GT’s supercharged V8.Ford is understood to have given the Falcon GT a tune-up from 335kW to 351kW as part of a limited edition model due to be unveiled mid-year. The batch of 500 cars -- in at least four colour combinations -- will be the last Falcon GTs ever made as Ford has confirmed it is retiring the badge before the facelifted sedan goes on sale by September.Once the 351kW Falcon GT goes, the 335kW Ford XR8 will continue from September 2014 until the rest of the Falcon range reaches the end of the line no later than October 2016. Ford is understood to have completely re-engineered the Falcon GT since the closure of Ford Performance Vehicles division at the end of 2012.Insiders say it has retuned the engine and the suspension to match the “staggered” wheel and tyre combination (as with the limited edition R-Spec released in 2012 and all HSVs since 2006, the rear tyres of the new GT will be wider than the front for better traction).Carsguide has also been told there were secret plans to make the power output for the last-ever Falcon GT significantly higher than the 351kW high note it will finish on.Confidential sources claim that the now defunct Ford Performance Vehicles had extracted 430kW of power from the supercharged V8 while it was in development, but those plans were vetoed by Ford because of concerns about reliability -- and the ability of the Falcon’s chassis, gearbox, driveshaft and differential to handle so much grunt.“We were at 430kW long before anyone knew HSV was going to have 430kW on the new GTS,” said an insider. “But in the end, Ford put the brakes on it. We could get the power easy enough, but they reckoned it didn’t make financial sense to make all the changes to the rest of the car to handle it.”As it stands today the Falcon GT briefly gets up to 375kW in an “overboost” mode which lasts up to 20 seconds, but Ford is not allowed to claim this figure, according to international testing guidelines.The new limited edition GT with a retuned 351kW supercharged V8 and wider rear tyres is understood to accelerate quicker than the old model, and is said to be smoother off the line. The original supercharged Falcon GT’s acceleration was blunted because it could not get enough grip from the rear tyres.A rather rudimentary traction control system -- which cuts engine power -- made the GT Falcon less than elegant off the line, spluttering as it struggled to find traction. “The new one is a revelation,” says an insider. “It’s definitely ending on a high note. It’s just a shame the GT didn’t get to this point earlier.”Price is yet to be determined and even the top echelon of Ford dealers are yet to receive the full details on the car, but insiders say it will be close to $90,000 on the road. Ford dealers have already begun taking orders.One dealer who wished to remain anonymous told Carsguide: “Ford has absolutely under-called this. They have not built enough cars. If the 500 Cobra GT limited edition Falcon sedans sold out in 48 hours a few years back, you can imagine how quickly the last ever GT is going to sell out.”This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling