The new Ford Falcon GT has all the ingredients to make it the fastest production car ever made in Australia – but we won't know for certain for at least another six weeks until we get behind the wheel on October 5.
While Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) is yet to confirm 0 to 100km/h times for its new supercharged V8, the Carsales Network has been told that it is quicker than the fastest Holden currently available, the HSV GTS sedan – and may even be quicker than the acclaimed HSV W427.
The top-end Ford Falcon GT pumps out more power and more torque than the HSV GTS and yet both cars weigh about the same (approximately 1800kg).
The Ford's 335kW and 570Nm from a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 compares to the HSV's 325kW and 550Nm from a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8.
HSV claims the GTS can do the 0 to 100km/h sprint in 4.96 seconds but no-one outside HSV has been able to match the claim.
Meanwhile, the Carsales Network understands that FPV will claim its GT does the dash in 4.90 seconds – but a time of 4.6 seconds is achievable in the hands of an FPV engineer.
If this is true, then the new generation FPV GT will be 0.1 second quicker than the hallowed HSV W427, which was powered by a massive 7.0-litre V8 engine (375kW and 640Nm) and could sprint to the speed limit in a claimed 4.7 seconds.
"We're not here to talk about performance numbers today," said FPV boss Rod Barrett at the preview of the new engine at Ford Performance Racing headquarters in Melbourne this week.
"We're very proud of what we've achieved and to be frank, after you've spent as much time in the new GT as we have, everything else just feels slow."
The head of powertrain and chassis at FPV, Bernie Quinn, said: "While we do have something to be proud of, I'm not very much into 0 to 100km/h times. I prefer 80 to 120km/h as an indication of a vehicle's performance.
"We've focused very much on instant torque, which you can feel in everyday driving," he said. "Peak torque arrives at 2000rpm, which is something our rivals don't have. It's just awesome. The power delivery is extremely linear.
"We considered twin turbocharging the 5.0-litre V8 for the GT but supercharging gave us better performance, better economy and it was a better fit in the engine bay."
Footnote: The HSV W427 was built between July 2008 and September 2009. It sold for $155,500 and to date is the most expensive Australian production car ever made. In the end only 137 were built, making it more exclusive than the iconic Ford Falcon GT-HO.