From the Classifieds: 2016 Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint Premcar Holy Grail

Australian muscle cars have always been regarded among the fastest four-door sedans in the world.

And none is revered as highly as the 1971 XY Ford Falcon GT HO Phase III, which was developed specifically to conquer Mount Panorama – doing so in the hands of Allan Moffat – and was, at the time, the quickest family car on the planet.

However, they were considered too quick for mere mortals and the so-called ‘Supercar scare’ newspaper campaign killed Ford’s GT HO road and race program a few years later, in turn mothballing the XY’s successor, the Phase IV GT HO, of which only four were produced.

The blue oval, naturally, continued to meet Australian demand for V8-powered muscle cars, including a series of anniversary editions of the GT before officially reviving the famous nameplate with Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) in 2002.

But despite there being desire within some circles at Broadmeadows who often teased the prospect, Ford never went as far as resuscitating the iconic GT HO badge.

When it came time to pull the shutters down on local manufacturing after more than 70 years, there were hushed whispers that Ford was preparing to farewell the Falcon with a heroic swansong and roll out a new-age GT HO. But it didn’t.

Instead, the company created a limited run (750 units) of the Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint, each powered by a 345kW/575Nm version of the supercharged Miami 5.0-litre V8 and now considered a collector’s item with low-kilometre models selling on carsales.com.au  for well over their initial asking price.

The idea – as well as the bits and bobs required – to recreate the ethos of a GT HO didn’t die when Ford stopped building the Falcon.

The engineering team that developed all FPV and XR models as well as the Miami V8 from scratch, led by Bernie Quinn who forged a management buyout of what was known as Prodrive Australia and rebranded the business as Premcar, still wanted to see it come to life and provide a small group of blue-blooded muscle car enthusiasts with the ultimate iteration of the locally-produced Falcon.

While they were forced to wait two years after the end of production to reveal their plans, Premcar’s SVT division delivered on its promise in 2018 with a comprehensive upgrade package available to owners of any Falcon powered by the Miami V8 – FG-X variants of the FPV GT and, of course, the Falcon XR8 Sprint – it called Holy Grail (with an obvious reference to the HO nameplate).

It was offered in two stages: the Holy Grail engine package that included the fitment of a triple by-pass water-to-air intercooler, additional heat exchanger, revised power steering pump and a recalibrated engine management system, along with a three-inch bi-modal stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system; and a Handling Option (another HO throwback) that brought a revised rear suspension Control Blade that allowed the fitment of wider 10-inch rear wheels, as well as lightweight 19-inch forged alloys wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres and 12-way adjustable Shockworks coil-over dampers.

With only 100 packages to be produced, it wasn’t a cheap makeover as the Holy Grail engine upgrade cost $24,885, with the mandatory exhaust adding another $4500 while the Handling Option was $14,790.

But it was effective, as we found in our first drive review and subsequently rated as one of the highlights of 2019, and with full compliance to local regulations the Premcar Holy Grail stands as Australia’s most powerful four-door muscle car, producing a whopping 483kW of power and an earth-moving 753Nm of torque.

While there are still a few places available for existing Falcon owners to upgrade their vehicles, we have a unique opportunity for those searching for a genuine piece of Australian motoring history as Premcar is offering its development car for sale exclusively on carsales.com.au.

The 2016 Falcon XR8 Sprint is painted in Smoke Grey, has a six-speed manual transmission, is build number 265 of 750, has just 39,500km on the clock and is being offered for sale at $95,000.

It is fitted with all of the options available from Premcar SVT, including the Holy Grail engine, high-performance exhaust and complete Handling Option package.

Beyond being used to finetune the engine and suspension systems, Premcar’s head of programs and chassis guru, Andrew Lynch, drove the development vehicle in the 2019 Targa High Country, leading a group of fellow Holy Grail owners and modified Mustang drivers in the tour section of the thrilling three-day road rally.

Naturally, it has been impeccably serviced and maintained, including refurbishment of the driveline and a recent respray of its front end to revive the lustre of its paint and remove any of the environmental wear and tear associated with its driving life so far.

The Premcar Holy Grail is a rapid machine, and the closest Australian muscle car fans have had to owning a Falcon GT HO since the 1970s.

So, if you’re looking for a piece of local automotive history, you might have to be just as quick to snap it up.

Take a closer look at this rare Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint Premcar Holy Grail for sale on carsales