Revealed! 2008 Ford Falcon
Pictures of Ford Australia’s next-generation Falcon have been leaked eight months before the crucial car’s official unveiling.
The photos of the company’s 2008 FPV-branded performance Falcons have appeared in Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper, and are believed to be official images obtained from a source within Ford.
The Herald Sun doesn’t mention where the pictures originated, describing them only as “top secret”.
Ford has admitted that its new Falcon – codenamed Orion – is a ‘top hat’ program, where new sheetmetal overlays the current model’s mechanicals.
The styling of the FPV Falcons reveals a more aggressive, modern look that should help Ford’s flagship Falcons take on HSV’s well designed VE Commodore-based rivals.
The front end of the new FPVs is the most striking. Projector headlights and foglights are grouped in a large, black L-shaped section on each corner, exaggerating a similar theme seen on Nissan’s concept preview for the next-generation GT-R.
A narrow mesh grille featuring the Ford badge sits above a huge central air intake. As with the current FPV line-up, the V8-powered GT and GT-P models are differentiated from the six-cylinder F6 models with a bonnet bulge.
The ‘Orion’ Falcon looks better proportioned than the current, BFII model, although dimensions will be similar - and the wheelbase expected to be near-identical.
The current Falcon was launched in 2002 as the BA, and carried over many components as well as the doors of the 1998 AU Falcon it replaced. There are new doors for the new Falcon, however, which confirm last week’s Drive story that pull-lever handles will replace the current lift-lever style.
A larger rear door addresses a criticism of the current Falcon, which doesn’t offer the easiest access to its rear seat. The rear door angles down across the rear wheelarch, mimicing the VE Commodore. The BFII Falcon’s rear door is shaped around the rear wheelarch.
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