FPV News

The Bathurst build-up begins today when the long-distance co-drivers have their first hitout of the year at Eastern Creek, the first time organisers have given drivers in the two endurance races special practice sessions at race meetings.Eastern Creek is one of four events where the extra drivers will have a chance to become familiar with their machinery before the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000.Not all teams have finalised co-drivers, but the session will be a great way to get a headstart for those that have.The Holden Racing Team will run veterans Glenn Seton and Craig Baird in its two Commodores. Seton will drive Mark Skaife's usual machine and Baird will use Garth Tander's car.Ford Performance Racing will run Dean Canto in Mark Winterbottom's regular ride and Luke Youlden will drive Steven Richard's Castrol-sponsored Falcon.The HSV Dealer Team will give experienced Kiwi Paul Radisich time in Rick Kelly's car, while Marcus Zukanovic will steer Paul Dumbrell's machine.“It's an important part of getting them used to the team and the cars,” Dick Johnson Racing team manager Adrian Burgess says.His team will run new signings Warren Luff and Steve Owen.Finding the right co-drivers and getting them up to speed is becoming an increasingly important issue. This year's race at Phillip Island will feature two short qualifying races on the Saturday of the meeting to determine the starting order of the long race. Each driver will compete in one race, making it critical to give the inexperienced driver more seat time.Stone Brother's Racing will get extra use out of the session. James Courtney's huge shunt at Adelaide has forced the team to use the team's spare car, Russell Ingall's car from last year.It hasn't been used in months and the session will allow rookie Jonathon Webb to gain valuable miles ahead of the enduros and shakedown the car before Courtney races it. 

FPV will not enter a power war with arch-rival HSV with its new FG series Falcon.

Sales of the family Ford have been falling for six years and hit a 40-year low last year, but the company is confident the good-looking newcomer can reverse the trend and give it a genuine rival to the top-selling VE Commodore.It has spent more than $500 million on the car, called the FG Falcon, and renewed everything from the body to the cabin and suspension.A V6 engine will also be added in 2010.There is still no firm sale date and prices were not revealed, although the preview showcased the FG headliners and also the high-performance hero from Ford Performance Vehicles.The Falcon arrives just a fortnight after Mitsubishi decided to close its local manufacturing operation, and with the Federal Government about to begin the review of its motor industry plan beyond 2010, including tariff levels and investment support.But new Ford Australia president Bill Osborne, who arrived less than a week ago from Ford Canada to take the top job, denied the Falcon was a crunch car.The FG Falcon has a new look and the other big change is the model naming, with the traditional Fairmont and Fairmont Ghia labels disappearing.The FG range for 2008 is the basic Falcon XT, followed by the newly named G Series — a G6, G6E and G6E Turbo — and then the familiar XR sports models.Safety is high on the list of improvements and every FG petrol sedan will have ESP stability control as standard, while utes will have anti-skid brakes and XR utes pick-up traction control.The new Falcon will make its first public appearance at the Melbourne Motor Show from February 29.Full details on the FG Falcon: 

Ford Performance Vehicles general manager Rod Barrett doesn't want buyers rushing to put in orders just yet, but he did let slip last week that he'd like to see the hot Ford back in circulation in 2010 or 2011.It is all part of his FPV 'vision' of the future.“I'm committed to that vision (of the GT-HO),” he says.A GT-HO is on Barrett's “to do” list and he says he is constantly researching what it should be.“As long as I'm here there will always be a commitment to do one, but I don't want people putting down deposits."“Every time we mention GT-HO people get a little too excited.”Barrett says his immediate focus is on the new Orion-based FPV Falcons, which go on sale on June 2, hard on the heels of the new Falcon.“I don't think there will be more than four weeks between the two cars,” he says. “I don't want it to be months later. Why wait?”At the launch of FPV's first all-wheel-drive turbo Territory last week, Barrett suggested FPV may move away from some of its “T” names.“Tornado and Typhoon will never be lost from the models that are there, but moving on with the car we've got, I don't think we necessarily have to nickname them,” he says.Carsguide understands the FPV turbo Territory was to be called the Tempest, but a change in Ford's naming strategy prompted the F6X.Barrett says this decision was taken before he joined the company.FPV as a brand is growing up and maturing, he says, and he can readily understand the HSV names and positioning of cars such as the Senator and Clubsport.“But the GT badge says a lot in itself and I can do variants, as I'm going to do,” he says. “GT-P says something different.”Apart from a GT-HO, Barrett is also entertaining the idea of small FPV cars like a Focus.He says when the locally built Focus comes on stream in 2011 it will provide a perfect platform for an FPV version.“It's 2008 now, it's not that far away. We're planning that far in advance,” he says. “That way we can determine what we want in a mother car.“I think the business model we have is the right model . . . and just be patient in developing what we have, then move into a smaller market in a couple of years.”He says a locally built FPV Focus would offer economies of scale and attract new FPV buyers.Barrett has been in the top job for six months and is firmly focused on FPV's future rather than its turbulent recent past, during which eight senior executives were sacked. 

There has been a rash of locally developed high-performance off-roaders such as the Ford Territory FPV F6 and Toyota's HiLux TRD. Now Holden Special Vehicles is looking to get in on the act.

Brock used the Shelby Mustang operation in the US and AMG in Germany as models for his HDT Special Vehicles, which in turn provided the model for Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performance Vehicles. The first special was the VC HDT Commodore, released in 1980. It's now a classic and appreciating in value.The car Brock modified was the top-of-the-range VC Commodore SL/E, already loaded with plenty of fruit. It came with Holden's 5.0-litre V8, but Brock and his team fitted large valves for better performance. It put out 160kW at 4500 revs and 450Nm at 2800 revs, enough to have it racing to 100km/h in 8.4 seconds.Brock offered the choice of Holden's four-speed manual gearbox or the three-speed auto. A limited-slip differential was standard. Brock fitted uprated springs and Bilstein gas shock absorbers, which improved handling.A fibreglass bodykit; wheel-arch flares, front bib spoiler and a rear wing; gave the car a sporting image. Colours were limited to white, black or red. Brock built 500 VC HDT Commodores. Models of the Brock cars are generally sold outside the trade.If you could believe the published values for a VC HDT, you'd expect to pay about $20,000 for one in good condition, but try double that now.Check the hard-to-find special Brock components are there; signed steering wheel, Irmscher alloys, high-flow air cleaner. The bodykits were made of fibreglass, which didn't withstand a knock. Check the various bodykit components for cracking around the attachment points and distortion between mounting points.Len Kennedy says he was impressed with the VC HDT, but debated spending the extra $6000 or so over a standard SL/E before eventually succumbing to the Brock ride and handling. Kennedy says his car has done 130,000km with little trouble. The Brock Commodore memory is kept alive today through Brock's former company, HDT Special Vehicles, now at Revesby.Co-owner Len Pennisi says values are increasing. “Unfortunately with Peter Brock's demise last year, cars quadrupled in value ... everybody wants a piece of that era,” he says. “Collectors are buying them, not selling them again; and they're not getting driven."“A lot of people are buying them to make money, like buying a house.” HDT Brock Commodore VCYear: 1980Price: If you could believe the published values for a VC HDT, you'd expect to pay about $20,000 for one in good condition, but try double that and expect it to keep going up.Engine: 5.0L/V8 160kW/450NmPerformance: 0-100kmh 8.4 secsRating: 75/100Verdict: Attractive Australian sports sedan that has the potential to increase in value. Rivals Falcon S XR6Years: 1992-1993Price: $8000-$9000 Nissan Skyline SilhouetteYears: 1986-1990Price: $5800-$6500 XB Falcon GTYears: 1973-1976Price: $15,000-$25,000 Features High fuel consumptionPotential to increase in valueSolid performanceCheck to ensure it is the real dealRumbling V8 exhaust noteReassuring handlingComfortable ridePresence of special Brock parts Have you driven this classic Aussie performance car? Do you have one stored away, quietly increasing in value? Let us know below... 

FPV has released a limited-edition F6 R-Spec Typhoon, debuting the R-Spec suspension and handling package in the turbo-six range.The R-Spec badge, a rear spoiler and different wheel treatments are standard on the tweaked car, of which there will only be 300.New FPV general manager Rod Barrett said the positive response to the GT 40th Anniversary limited edition, which was the first FPV to feature the R-Spec handling package, has prompted the new model.“The initial idea behind R-Spec was to provide an FPV vehicle for those people who wanted to be more competitive at track days and club sprint events, but who didn't want to compromise on the comfort of daily driving, either,” he said.Barrett has come across from the racing side of the business, having been commercial director of Ford Performance Racing for the past few years.Before that, Barrett's CV includes sales and marketing roles in Australia, Asia and the UK, including more than a decade of senior management with Coca-Cola and the Fosters Group.Barrett can also lay claim to an international circuit racing motorsport career in the UK and here from 1979 to 1992.He said the GT 40th Anniversary had succeeded in fitting the brief for customers looking for the same suspensions upgrade in a turbo-six Typhoon.He also said FPV has customised the R-Spec package to maximise the handling characteristics of the Typhoon, allowing the F6 R-Spec drivers to extract the best possible performance out of their vehicle.“The set-up on the F6 is different to our Boss 290 package to account for the different mass of the Typhoon,” Mr said. “The most significant change has been to the front-end damper tune.“Importantly, we have maintained an impressive level of ride comfort. The R-Spec package picks up more road irregularities.“However, we have maintained the supple ride that has earned FPV cars an enviable ride and handling reputation.”The driveline is unchanged, meaning the revamped underpinnings do a better job of getting the turbo six's 270kW (at 5000rpm) and the mesa-like torque curve that shows 550Nm (between 2000 and 4250rpm) to ground.FPV said the forced-induction six-cylinders represent between 30 and 40 per cent of all FPVs sold.The interior gets leather seats as standard, as well as FPV floor mats with the F6 R-spec logo, an iPod/MP3 audio player connection, but exterior paint colours are limited to Winter White, Lightning Strike, Vixen, Neo, Ego and Silhouette.The R-Spec model will be available with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, with a starting price of $63,310, up from the standard F6 price of $61,810.While 2144 sales for 2006 was a record year for FPV, 2007 numbers are about 170 units down in year-to-date terms.The company is aiming to make up for the shortfall with several limited-edition models in the next six months to finish off the year with ' strong sales result.' 

Discounting and Ford Performance Vehicles do not go together. That's the message from the company's new general manager, Rod Barrett. Barrett says price cuts are unlikely in an effort to keep sales bu

It may be treading water at the moment when it comes to new models, but Ford Performance Vehicles still has some tricks up its sleeve.To keep buyer interest bubbling along it has released a limited-edition F6 R-spec Typhoon.The R-spec is one of three limited-edition cars planned in the run up to the new Orion-based hot FPV Falcons, which will reach showrooms in about nine months.The others are expected to be the Cobra Falcon and ute and an FPV Territory in October.Only 300 R-spec Typhoons will be built, with a beefier suspension and handling package.The engine specifications remain the same; a turbocharged 4.0-litre, six-cylinder developing 270kW at 5000 revs and 550Nm from 2000 revs.The F6 R-Spec is the first of Ford Performance Vehicles' six-cylinder models to get this package.The car is identified with distinctive badging and dark argent gunmetal accents on the wheels and rear spoiler.It will come with its own build certificate of authenticity.FPV general manager Rod Barrett says the Typhoon R-spec came about because of the positive response to the 40th-anniversary GT limited edition, the first FPV to feature the R-Spec handling package.All 200; 40th-anniversary GTs were snapped up by enthusiasts.“The initial idea behind R-Spec was to provide an FPV vehicle for those people who wanted to be more competitive at track days and club sprint events, but who didn't want to compromise on the comfort of daily driving,” Barrett says.FPV has customised the R-Spec package to maximise the Typhoon's handling characteristics, allowing drivers to extract the best possible performance out of their vehicles. The most significant change has been to the front-end damper tune without compromising ride comfort.The cabin includes FPV's leather seats as standard, and FPV floor mats with the F6 R-spec logo inlay match the exterior touches. An iPod/MP3 audio player connection is also fitted as standard and integrates with the stereo.The F6 R-Spec is available with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic.Prices start from $63,310, which is $1500 more than for the standard F6 Typhoon. 

Adoption of these engines means future Ford Performance Vehicles could use a single or even twin-turbo, direct-injection version of the imported 3.5-litre V6 and a new 5.0-litre TwinForce V8 with cylinder deactivation technology.The TwinForce family of engines grew from Ford's existing 3.0-litre Duratec family. One of its first applications was previewed in the Lincoln MKR concept car at this year's Detroit Motor Show.The Lincoln used a TwinForce all-alloy twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 developing 321kW and 542Nm, which compares favourably with the current FPV turbo six's 270kW and 550Nm.Though Ford Australia will not comment on the specifications of its future V6s or V8s, US Ford executives have said the TwinForce unit has the power of a V8 and economy of a six. They say a TwinForce V6 can achieve 20 per cent better economy than existing six-cylinder engines.The alloy engine has the potential to be enlarged to 3.7 litres for different markets. Mazda's new CX-9 will use a 3.7-litre version when it goes on sale later in the year.Ford's group vice-president, global product development, Derrick Kuzak, says TwinForce engine technology is a key element of “how we're going after fuel economy gains without asking anyone to give up performance”.Apart from the twin-turbo V6, Ford has a standard 3.5-litre that develops 198kW and 339Nm but can reach 224kW once such features as direct injection are added.Direct fuel injection, already used on some Japanese and European performance cars, monitors fuel flow into the cylinders more precisely, resulting in lower emissions.Technologies for the twin turbocharging system were developed in co-operation with Volvo.The direct-injection system is a joint development between Ford and Bosch, based on Bosch DFI systems already in production.The engine is capable of operating on any mix of E85 ethanol and premium petrol.Ford is also working on new dual-clutch six-speed gearboxes called Powershift, which will be used with the new engines.The gearboxes were developed in conjunction with Getrag.