Ford FG Falcon XR8: Power Play

By Feann Torr - 13/March/2008

Melbourne, Australia — Holden Special Vehicles may have stolen the Blue Oval's thunder at the Melbourne Motor Show with the $120,000 W427 über car, but there's more to this power war redux than meets the eye.

Holden and HSV were clever in releasing the Coupe 60 and the ultra-mad 7.0-litre V8-powered HSV W427 at the same time as Ford's new Falcon and like many people, I didn't spend much time investigating the Blue Oval's new toys at the Melbourne auto show as a result.

Yet with more power and torque across the range, not to mention superior fuel consumption, the new Falcon is - model for model - more powerful and more efficient than the Holden Commodore.

Virtually lost amidst the hullabaloo over at the Holden stand, Ford's new V8 Falcon was a symbolic warning shot fired across the bow of the Holden battleship.

Interestingly, there's now just one V8 model in the new FG Falcon range: the XR8.

While FPV will offer the bulk of the V8 models, the sole V8 Falcon is expected to do a much better job at tackling the SS Commodore than previously.

To begin with the new 2008 FG Falcon XR8 gets the Boss 290 V8 engine from the previous BF model FPV GT, which delivers a big power hike.

This quad cam 5.4-litre V8 engine may be smaller than Holden's 6.0-litre slugger, but it's a more high tech block and hence more powerful, outputting 290kW of power @ 5750rpm compared to the Holden's 270kW @ 5700rpm.

However, the XR8's 520Nm of torque @ 4750rpm is still 10Nm shy of the Holden's 530Nm @ 4400rpm.

Fuel economy has dropped by a large margin, from 15 to 14L/100km and will be music to the ears of those with limited petrol funds.

Like GM's Gen-4 Holden donk, the Ford V8 likes to rev but where these two engines differ fundamentally is in their construction - the Ford V8 is built in Australia, the Holden V8 is not.

Ford says that each of these Boss 290 engines are "hand-built from bare blocks and heads, with FPV adding a wide range of local upgrades and internal components" on Australia's only V8 production line.

Some of the new stuff that the XR8's motor will benefit from in 2008 include things like new high compression pistons with domed tops. These significantly raise the compression ratio from 9.5:1 to 10.5:1.

Most of the engine's internals are stronger and of higher quality metals to deal with the increased stress, including a new forged steel crankshaft and sintered conrods. 

There's also a new high-lift intake camshaft that improves inlet flow, increases valve lift from 10mm in the older model to 13mm in the new XR8.

Transmission options on the XR8 models are both 6-speed 'boxes - manual or automatic. 

The 6-speed manual is upgraded from the previous Tremec T56 to the Tremec TR6060 and is very similar to the unit HSV will be using on the W427 super car.

It uses a 290mm single plate clutch with a self-adjusting mechanism to regulate pedal feel.

Automatic fans get the German ZF 6-speeder again, which now provides 'cylinder cut' between gearshifts which is supposed to improve shift timing and refinement.

Ford hasn't talked about precise acceleration figures - we're guessing about 6.0 seconds flat for the XR8 - instead referring to a "performance feel" that they're going for.

The Ford engine has always been recognised for having a more appealing (and louder) V8 burble than its GM rival - part of this 'performance feel' - and one of the key selling points of the new 2008 model XR8 Falcon will be its engine acoustics.

Together with new stainless steel exhaust headers, the XR8 Ford Falcon also benefits from a little device called the semi active muffler system, or SAM for short.

Used in vehicles such as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Jaguar XK8, the SAM comprises of a small pressure activated valve in the muffler/collector near the exhaust outlets at the rear of the car.

At engine idle and low revs the SAM valve stays closed. This sends the exhaust gases through their usual retinue of baffles in the muffler to keep noise levels low (which will be good when you don't want to wake up the whole street at night).

Above 2800rpm there's enough exhaust pressure to open the spring-loaded valve, which by-passes all the noise suppressors.

In practice this will give the XR8 a changed and very sporty exhaust note at higher engine speeds. 

If it's anything like the Aston Martin Vantage, it'll be very loud.

But the XR8 is not just about the engine. It's got to have the look.

As well as the new 290kW V8 mill, the FG Ford Falcon XR8 models come as standard with a sports body kit, which is made up of ground-hugging front and rear aprons, stylised side skirts, XR8 badging, and the 'double drop' headlight lens design that has been an XR trademark for some time.

Another returning (and updated) design cue is the power bulge on the bonnet which communicates the XR8's performance in a menacingly impressive way. 

The bonnet also has new contours that begin at the grille and flow along the bonnet to the windscreen, flanking and emphasising the power bulge. 

Meanwhile new chrome foglight bezels are pushed low and wide adding even more aggression to the XR8's front end.

At the rear of the new V8 Falcon there's also an updated low-rise rear wing which combines well with the edgy brake light design and quasi diffuser to create a sporty and dare I say sophisticated look.

During the FG Falcon launch last month, Ford also talked about the advances made in the ride and handling departments and though we won't know the full extent of the chassis revisions until the launch drive in April, it does look promising.

The most important new element of FG Falcon's chassis is the new front suspension. 

Gone are the conventional MacPherson struts, replaced with 'virtual pivot control link' front suspension.

As well as being all aluminium for the first time (shedding 22kg compared to the previous setup), the front suspension is purported to give the Falcon even sharper handling while improving the ride quality.

The XR8 model will get the 'XR' sports suspension package with stiffer springs and new monotube shock absorbers in lieu of twin tube shocks. 

These new dampers react more rapidly to changing road surfaces and have better thermal tolerances, which means they'll work well during sustained performance driving.

It could be argued that Ford took a risk employing a new front suspension system, but Ford Australia's vehicle dynamics engineers seemed unusually excited when talking about the new virtual pivot setup during the car's initial unveiling.

As well as steering enhancements, the rear Control Blade suspension has been updated which "reduces in-corner roll and improves straight line stability" according to Ford.

Tyre choice is quite possibly the most important chassis aspect when it comes to developing a large sports sedan. They're heavy, they're powerful, and they need better-than-usual road holding. 

Dynamic stability control, which is now standard on all Falcon models and will go a long way to taming the car's size and weight under duress, but the tyre choice is also crucial.

Ford equips the XR8 with 18-inch alloy rims as standard, shod with Dunlop's top spec SP Sport Maxx rubber with 245/40 R18 aspect ratios and we're pretty keen to see how they perform. Ford will also offer 19-inch rims on all XR and luxury Falcons, which are also fitted with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres measuring 245/35 R19.

The interior will also get an injection of auto-sporto, with plenty of satin alloy accents in the cockpit, sports seats with XR lettering, a bit more attention to detail on the instrument cluster and so on.

Option will include things like a reversing camera, satellite navigations, car body decals (stickers), Nudo leather seats, and the aforementioned 19-inch wheels.

With all it's new features - the SAM, more power, the new look, an intriguing new chassis - the Falcon XR8 could be a real winner. All we can think of now is just how interesting the Falcon XR8 versus the Commodore SS comparo will be.

Related articles:
- Ford Falcon G6E Turbo (2008)
- Ford FG Falcon Launch (2008)
- Ford FG Falcon Range (2008)
- Ford Focus RS (2009)
- Ford Mondeo (Road Test)
- Holden Commodore vs Ford Falcon (Road Test)
- FPV F6 X (2008)
- Ford Fiesta XR4 (Road Test)
- Ford Kuga Concept (2007)
- Ford Focus Diesel (Road Test)
- Ford Focus XR5 Turbo (Road Test)
- Next-Gen Ford Falcon in Detroit (2008)