Australia’s motoring landscape was long based on a tribal rivalry between Holden and Ford, and I’m not afraid to say I grew up in the latter camp.
From spending my formative years being briefly exposed to my grandfather’s XY Fairmont and XF Falcon, to my dad later owning BA, FG, XB and XD Falcons, it was only natural that one day I’d follow in their footsteps, having myself owned an FG G6E Turbo, ZH Fairlane and, currently an EF Fairmont.
While the ‘second-gen’ Falcon of which the XY belonged to got all the attention, not enough love has been given from the public – myself included – to the first American-based Falcons which started it all Down Under, starting with the XK.
Imagine my surprise then when one of my friends in Ford’s PR department asks if I’d like to take a ride in an XK Falcon around Mount Panorama, on the weekend of the Bathurst 1000.
Now that in itself is something I’d find it hard to say no to, but the cherry on top was finding out we – because my Ford-loving dad had to come too – would be riding in THE first XK Falcon to be built in Australia, which gave birth to the longest-running nameplate ever sold Down Under.
Ford’s Australian success, and by extension my obsession with the Blue Oval brand, can be traced back to this very car, which is still owned by Ford Australia and was restored to near-showroom condition by apprentices.
That is, save for a much more modern electric fuel pump, activated by a switch under the bonnet, and capable of making one hell of a racket – one loud enough to drown out the sound of the straight-six engine under the bonnet.
With just 299 miles (yes, this car launched almost a decade before Australia adopted the metric system) on the odometer, it felt new inside, or at least new for its time.
No seat belts, heating/cooling controls (that’s what windows are for) or grab-handles are a stark reminder of how far cars have come, something which my dad reminded me of from the back seat, a space familiar to him as his parents had the related XM and XP Falcons when he was young.
Thankfully, I was not entrusted with the controls of this museum piece, and instead was able to truly take in a lap of Mount Panorama in the passenger seat, viewing not only the crowds lining the track, but also the convoy of Fords surrounding us, marking the 100th birthday of Ford Australia.
We were also thankful the police escort around the circuit decided to speed up on Mountain Straight, as the steep climb at a relative walking pace of 20km/h would’ve been difficult in the four-up Falcon.
Seeing someone operate a column-shift manual with no synchromesh is a sight to behold, and a skill which has largely been consigned to history.
Of course, getting up the mountain was one thing, but getting down was also a suspenseful exercise, with the four drum brakes instilling little confidence in the Falcon’s passengers, though obviously we’re still here to tell the tale.
While I was able to reminisce about the role the XK Falcon played in launching what became an icon, it’s easy to overlook just how different things could have been.
Sure, it was more advanced than anything Holden had out at the time, but it was also much more fragile and could’ve done irreparable damage to Ford’s reputation locally, had the brand not realised its faults and spent significant amounts of time and money developing future models at You Yangs.
Now, we’re almost 10 years down the line from the last Falcon rolling off the production line, but Ford still has a significant presence in Australia, not only because the Ranger ute has been the nation’s best-selling vehicle for the past two years, but thanks to the significant R&D team based in Melbourne who continue to aid the brand’s global operations.
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