Myth No More: FPV's Turbocharged Falcon

What was once rumour, is now reality.

Ford Performance Vehicles will take the wraps off its new turbo six-cylinder performance sedan at the Melbourne Motor Show, which kicks off on February 27.

Called the F6 Typhoon, the turbocharged 4.0-litre DOHC inline six is expected to get a boost in a number of areas, such as drivetrain, brakes and suspension, though Ford and FPV are remaining tight-lipped on exact specifications.

The Typhoon name is somewhat old school, but with the current GT moniker, it should make for good company and will help expand the popular FPV range into new markets.

The fact that the Typhoon has a smaller engine than the 5.4-litre Boss V8 found in the GT and Pursuit models (and also that it will be lighter), will interest new buyers who baulked at the pricey running costs and high fuel consumption of owning a performance V8.

The Typhoon will also mean that FPV has a model in a market segment that HSV does not, which could result in Holden Special Vehicles returning to the supercharged 6-cylinder XU6.

Perhaps after mid year, when Holden gets deliveries of its more powerful OHC all-aluminium V6 for the VZ Commodore, HSV will look at this - and if the Typhoon sells well, the chances of this happening will increase.

"This is the beginning of a new era for Ford Performance Vehicles," says David Flint, managing director of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV).

"When we announced the formation of Ford Performance Vehicles we promised to create the broadest range of locally-developed high-performance vehicles in Australia.

"We believe the exciting F6 Typhoon is the next step in delivering that promise – but certainly not the last."

Is Flint hinting at yet more new models - a turbo FPV ute perhaps? And what if the new Typhoon eclipses the big V8 models in power? The turbo six could easily break the 300kW barrier, which could see the GT reach phase II, outputting 300+kW. However tantalising, this is highly unlikely - instead we can expect the F6 to have a power output of 270-280kW, which is still a good rise over the 'standard' 240kW XR6 Turbo. Torque is also likely to be given a hike over the XR6T model and rise to around 480-500Nm.

The official line on the new turbo FPV is as follows: The F6 Typhoon will be powered by a high-performance turbo-charged and intercooled 4.0-litre six cylinder engine that is certain to provide exhilarating performance.

"We raised the bar in the V8 segment with the GT, and we believe the F6 Typhoon will further strengthen our position as the technical leaders in the tribal high-performance vehicle market. It will demonstrate our commitment to providing a family of cars that offer a Total Performance package."

We'll have all the photography, specs and opinions of the FPV F6 Typhoon and all the other new vehicles from the Melbourne Motor Show that begins February 27.