Ford V8 and turbo six Sprint confirmed

Ford Australia has finally confirmed its worst kept secret... The release of a limited-edition Falcon XR Series sedan badged Sprint "in 2016". However, in contrast to most speculation to date, the Sprint will be offered in both turbo six-cylinder and supercharged V8 versions.

"There has been a lot of speculation around what our plans are for Falcon in 2016 and today we're happy to confirm that Ford will build a special series to celebrate Australia's large sedan," said Graeme Whickman, Ford President and CEO via a statement issued just minutes ago.

"The Falcon XR Sprint is aligned to the understated look of our notable historic performance Falcons; they will be styled with design and dynamic influences that are distinctly different in feel, presence and execution," Whickman said.

"The XR Sprint will be a limited-edition series and one we think will be highly regarded by our Falcon fans. Ultimately too, like many of our performance Fords, we expect it to be a highly collectible car," he said.

Details regarding the cars are sparse.

At this stage Ford Australia will only confirm the Sprint will be available as an automatic turbo six-cylinder or supercharged V8 in a choice of either manual and automatic transmission.

The company is also promising an unspecified power increase, upgraded brakes and unique wheels and exterior striping and badging. There will also be Sprint interior upgrades as already spied.

The Sprint badge was first used on US-market two-door Falcon models in the early 1960s. More recently, says Ford Australia, the name was "used on the 1993 ED XR8 and delivered a Tickford-enhanced V8 with an upgraded suspension and interior".

"More than 300 were built and today they are among some of the more collectible Falcons," the company says.

The company says more details about the Falcon XR Sprint series will be released early in 2016.