Reborn Falcon XR8 still a year away

The homegrown hero for middle Australia -- the Ford Falcon XR8 performance sedan -- is still on track to return to local showrooms, but it may not arrive this year.

According to senior Ford sources, the XR8 program has been delayed slightly and may get pushed back into 2012.

Ford Australia is yet to confirm which engine will power the reborn XR8 sedan but the Carsales Network understands that the most likely option is a non-supercharged version of the highly-regarded 5.0-litre V8 that powers the Mustang.

This makes the most financial and logistical sense given the extra cost involved in adding a supercharger at Ford Performance Vehicles.

A decision to go with a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 also gives Ford and FPV a handy price and marketing gap between the XR8 and GS and GT supercharged Falcon models.

"We have no further comment to make about XR8 other than when we dropped it last year we were pleasantly surprised by the feedback from customers and dealers who genuinely didn't want it to go," said Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary. "Obviously we are in the business of keeping customers happy and we're looking at our options at a possible re-introduction of this vehicle."

Meanwhile Ford insiders say that the 5.0-litre without a supercharger is quicker than the old 5.4-litre V8 despite being smaller in capacity.

The XR8 was dropped at the end of June last year after new emissions rules came into effect in Australia. Ford could have updated the engine to meet the new rules but this was deemed too expensive.

Ford initially made the decision to drop the XR8 altogether and leave the V8 business to its performance car partner, FPV. But an 11th hour decision saw the XR8 program revived after strong feedback from Ford fans and dealers.

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