FPV the quiet achiever

* UPDATED 16/08/2012 to reflect the fact the auto version is quicker, and to reference the HSV W427's 0-100km/h acceleration time.

Twenty-first century political correctness and the fear of being accused of hoonery will prevent Ford Performance Vehicles from ever officially claiming its new GT RSPEC is the fastest production Falcon ever built.

But unofficially, the expectation within FPV is that wider rear tyres, modified suspension and the addition of launch control will enable the RSPEC to consistently undercut by tenths the old GT’s official acceleration claim of 4.9 seconds, which was set in the automatic version.

motoring.com.au understands internal testing shows the RSPEC (with its wider rear tyres, firmer suspension and the auto's sophisticated launch conctrol system) is capable of accelerating to 100km/h in about 4.5 seconds, eclipsing both the standard GT and the most powerful model from FPV’s direct rival HSV – the 325kW/550Nm 6.2-litre GTS.

It should therefore also eclipse the 4.7-second 0-100km/h time of HSV's limited-production W427, thereby making RSPEC the quickest locally built production vehicle ever sold in Australia.

The fitment of launch control has been made possible by adopting the electronic stability control program upgrade from Bosch 8.1 to 9.0, which came into service with Ford’s FG II Falcon. Effectively, R SRPEC is FPV’s FG II mechanical update.

In addition, although 20-inch wheels and tyres (which are now standard across the HSV range) remain unavailable on any FPV model, the RSPEC’s rear wheels are now nine inches wide and wear 275/35 R19 Dunlop Sports Maxx tyres instead of the current GT’s narrower 245/35 rear tyres.

“It’s an unfortunate thing in today’s world there is an element of political correctness,” said FPV Managing Director Bryan Mears at this week’s launch of the GT RSPEC. “We won’t want to talk about speed for speed’s sake. We don’t want to talk about performance in that regard.

“There is a temptation to claim the car will do 0-100 in such-and-such a time, but some people would read that and say ‘hoons’ and want to confiscate the cars and so on… so I don’t believe we can talk about and publicise those high-end performance things this car is capable of without drawing criticism.”

Mr Mears also defended the decision to bring the RSPEC to market without a power boost from the 335kW/570Nm level the supercharged ‘Miami’ 5.0-litre V8 has been set at since its October 2010 launch.

“It is the most advanced GT we’ve ever produced. The most hard-core GT yet. This is the GT we wanted to launch [in 2010]. We believe with the 335kW we have a real sweet spot with this engine, and now with this car the complete package.

“Where we are today, it’s not about the number on the back of the car. Those days are generally disappearing,” Mr Mears added. “But there will always be a power issue.”

He conceded the upgrade package meant the FPV chassis was capable of coping with future power boosts, which could well become necessary when HSV’s next generation arrives with an expected increase from the current 325kW peak.

“If we are looking into the future then we have protected ourselves for a whole range of possibilities,” said Mr Mears.

The entire limited-edition production run of 350 RSPECs has been snapped up by FPV’s 77-dealer retail network, along with 75 Pursuit utes also announced this week.

The RSPEC build between now and November will mean a temporary cessation of GT, GT-E and GT-P production. Mr Mears expects RSPEC demand to outstrip supply, leading to an overall sales up-tick.

Mr Mears also nominated a boost in GS sales as a priority for the company. Sales figures obtained by motoring.com.au show that to the end of July this year FPV had sold 770 vehicles, with the GT family outselling the GS more than two-to-one. In the same period, HSV sales were beyond 1100.

Mr Mears, who is also the managing director of the Asia-Pacific division of Prodrive, which owns 51 per cent of FPV, took over direct control of FPV as part of a downsizing in June that saw general manager Rod Barrett and others leave the company.

“It was a pragmatic decision to re-size the business to fit demand,” said Mr Mears of the restructure. “I am now closer to the action and whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen… we want to concentrate on units, we want to concentrate on satisfying our customers, getting close to our customers and understanding what they want.”

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...