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IN A little over two weeks, Ford will lift the covers off its born-again GT Falcon and XR8.
The GT, which is back to full-time production, and the XR8, which is powered by a hot 5.4-litre V8 called Boss 260, will be worshipped by thousands on Ford's stand at the Sydney International Motor Show.
Ford will issue more details of the iconic GT at the Sydney show, with power figures freely tipped to be at least 320kW.
The 260kW XR8 is expected to carry a sticker price of just over $50,000.
The initial stable of Ford Performance Vehicles, to be released next year, will consist of the GT, GT-P (performance) and the Pursuit Ute.
While the head-kickers of Ford's new BA line-up are yet to go public, the XR6 turbo, pictured, has made a grand entrance on to Australian roads.
It's tough, it's Australian and it honks along like no other six-cylinder Falcon. It kicks and screams like no other XR6.
A mighty 240kW of power lifts the BA XR6 turbo to superstar status.
Consider this when you are trying to determine how much progress Ford has made with its new engine line-up -- a 2000 XR8 with 185kW looks sufficiently anaemic in comparison to this new XR6.
The force-fed Barra six has a commanding presence on the road and its internals are a little braver than previous incarnations.
For starters, there is the wildly luminous dash, plus door and seat trims which mimic the tread patterns on the new 17-inch Dunlops.
The seats fit your body like a glove.
The automatic sequential sports shift also is quicker than the five-speed manual version.
Squeeze the right pedal and there is that hand-thrusting-you-into-the-seat response from the Garrett GT40 turbo, blowing to 6psi.
In the get-go stakes, the XR6 turbo has loads of pace.
Importantly, there is balance and poise to back up the stoke.
Handling is even crisper than before, with more body control and precise steering, although there is quite a bit of front-end push under load.
The underlying factor with the turbo is that there is more than enough performance for the every-street prowler.
What lurks beneath is only as good as chassis dynamics -- and they are sharp.
With traction control functioning on a slippery and wet road in The Grampians in Victoria, the XR6 was poised and balanced.
The only evidence the traction control was functioning was the short burst of what sounds like faint machine-gun fire from a distance.
This package has a lot of power, dabs of luxury in the cabin and is a heap of fun for not much more than a smaller, less powerful Subaru WRX.
Factory fuel figures suggest the manual consumes 12 litres/100km (12.5 litres/100km for the auto) around town.
In real-world conditions, such as those on this test during which the car was pushed and pushed for two days, consumption was in the high 14s. And that was not bad considering consumption did not enter the game plan during the drive.
One of the highlights of this car is that Ford has backed muscle with finesse in a package which will not be intimidating for unsuspecting drivers.
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