New Falcon GT sold out for three months

The new generation Ford Falcon GT is sold out before the car has even been unveiled.

Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) has sold the first batch of 252 cars – including 40 bound for New Zealand – which is equivalent to the first three months' supply.

Customers who order a new GT once the car breaks cover on October 5 in the lead-up to the Bathurst 1000 motor race may have to wait until early next year to take delivery.

But anyone expecting a massive change to the GT's appearance may be disappointed. FPV openly admits all the money has been spent on the engine, not on styling.

The new GT is said to look identical to the current car except the foglights have been removed from the front bumper to keep the new supercharged V8 cool under pressure – and the rear bumper has two exhaust outlets instead of one.

But those who placed their orders early may be in for at least one pleasant surprise: the price.

The GS supercharged 5.0-litre V8 (315kW and 545Nm) is likely to cost about $55,000, while the GT supercharged 5.0-litre V8 (335kW and 570Nm) is said to be priced below $70,000 -- despite the $40 million investment in the new engine.

"We have a lot of loyal Ford fans who have been following closely all the rumours and the development of this car, and finally we can tell them it's been worth the wait," said FPV boss Rod Barrett. "We believe it's the best car and the best engine we've ever built, and the best engine ever produced in Australia."

With the $55,000 GS sedan, FPV plans to fill the price void between the $50,000 Holden Commodore SS-V and $65,000 HSV Clubsport R8 – a space which until recently HSV occupied with its GXP special edition.

"With the GS we want to take some of the cream off the top of the Holden range, to attract some people who might be making the transition from an SS-V to a HSV Clubsport," said Barrett.

Meanwhile, the new GT Falcon will be priced closer to a HSV Clubsport rather than HSV's top model, the GTS, even though the new generation GT Falcon is faster and more powerful than the HSV GTS.

"The new GT Falcon is not going to be much more than what you get now for $67,490, it will just touch $70,000," said Barrett. "Just because this has the greatest engine in Australia doesn't mean it has the [biggest] price."

The shortage of supply initially will likely lead to customers having to pay full price.

"We don't build cars to [sit on the] grass," said Barrett. "We either build them to a dealer order or to a customer order. Every car has a name on it."

Ford fans looking for a bargain may want to pick up one of the superseded GT Falcons with the 5.4-litre V8 engine. There are 50 of those remaining in the network of 70 FPV dealers.

"We have less than one 5.4-litre V8 GT for every dealer, we're really happy with the runout," said Barrett.

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