Ford Falcon XR Sprint leaked

Details of Ford's farewell Falcon XR Sprint limited-editions have surfaced on the internet, confirming two models will be imminently announced.

The cheapest will be the Falcon XR6 Sprint automatic sedan, priced at $54,990 plus on-road costs (up a big $11,500 on the standard 270kW/533Nm XR6 Turbo) and producing a mammoth 325kW/576Nm from Ford Australia's 4.0-litre inline turbo-six.

The highest outputs yet seen from what many regard as the finest engine ever produced in Australia will not only make the XR6 Sprint the most powerful six-cylinder Falcon from Ford but also means it will deliver more torque than the XR8 Sprint – by 1Nm.

The XR8 Sprint sedan, meantime, will offer 345kW/575Nm from its 5.0-litre supercharged V8, which produces 335kW/570Nm in the standard XR8 and 351kW/650Nm in the limited-edition FPV GT F 351 of 2014.

It will be available in both six-speed manual and automatic forms, priced at $59,990 (manual) and $62,190 (auto), representing a price premium of just $6500 over the standard XR8.

Ford always said its 351kW 'Miami' blown V8 would remain the preserve of the GT F 351, but given that car could produce up to 410kW in overboost mode at the flywheel in the right conditions, Ford's official 345kW/575Nm outputs are likely to be conservative.

And although the extent of its engine upgrades remain unclear, given the standard XR6 Turbo can develop more than 335kW (DIN) at the crank in overboost mode, and sprint to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, the XR6 Sprint is almost certain to be the quickest production Falcon ever.

This is especially so since both models will ride on a new development of the FPV RSPEC chassis, including staggered-width black 19-inch alloy wheels with wider 275mm rubber on a nine-inch rear rim. There will also be gold-painted six-piston front and four-piston rear Brembo brakes, which are normally a $4500 option.

Visually, bumpers will be unchanged save for revised fog light inserts, a unique stripe design, black roof, individually numbered engine cover plaque and unique seat trim with Sprint embroidery (as revealed here).

There will also be Sprint badging – on the rear deck lid and front quarter panels — as Ford revealed in December when it came clean on its plan to send off the Falcon with a pair of XR Sprint models before the Blue Oval closes its factory doors in October, engine Falcon production after 56 years.

Much of the information above was revealed in a leaked image of a magazine due to be published on February 16 next week – the same day Ford Australia had planned to announce XR Sprint specs and pricing.

The image appeared briefly on FordForums.com.au before being removed over the weekend. As a result, motoring.com.au understands Ford will advise its dealer network allocation earlier than planned this week, before opening the official order book in coming days.

Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that just 1400 Sprints will be produced in total, including 1200 for Australia and 200 for New Zealand, and just 500 examples of the XR6 Sprint could be offered here.

What's more, the Sprint models will replace the standard XR6 Turbo and XR8, meaning that when production begins in March, these will be the last Falcon XR8s and XR6Ts ever produced.

As we reported last year after Ford Australia registered it, the Sprint name was seen on Ford's Tickford-enhanced ED XR8 of 1993, when more than 300 were produced.

Motoring.com.au first revealed Ford's plan to produce higher-performance XR6 and XR8 swansong models during the FG X Falcon launch in November 2014.

Since then, in March 2015, Ford announced it would increase production of the XR8 from an initial 1200 as forecast to 2800, in response to popular demand.

What do you think? Will Ford produce enough XR Sprints to satisfy demand? Will the XR Sprints be a fitting finale for Ford's longest surviving nameplate and for Ford manufacturing Down Under?