1966 Ford Falcon XP Futura Coupe

Description

The appeal of Ford's original Falcon range broadened considerably with the launch of a stylish home grown hardtop coupe in 1964. Based on the American Falcon Sprint, the clean pillarless design was unlike anything else on the road in Australia at the time, giving the Blue Oval a big advantage over arch rivals Holden and Chrysler. In 1965, the XM Falcon was facelifted to become the XP, with revamped sheetmetal and a more squared-off front section the most noticeable exterior changes. Under the skin, a much-improved three-speed Fordomatic 3S (really a modified Borg Warner 35) automatic transmission replaced the earlier two-speed unit on more upmarket models, while improvements were made to the steering, the rear suspension was improved with stiffer spring rates and shocks and reinforcements to improve the torsional stiffness of the uni-body structure. Ford also made improvements to the dash layout and seating comfort, remedying many of the criticisms levelled at the previous XM Falcon. Offered with three engine choices, the 144-cid Economy, the 170-cid Deluxe and 200-cid Futura, the latter was only available with the larger ?Super Pursuit? motor and all Futuras came with the new automatic transmission as standard equipment. The 200-cid ?Super Pursuit? engine had a compression ratio of 8.7:1 and produced 121 bhp at 4400 rpm, giving a top speed just shy of 100mph and a very respectable 0-60mph time of 10.5 seconds. The press responded favourably to the XP Falcon and it became the first Australian car to be considered for and win the Wheels magazine Car of the Year award. The XP Hardtop has become one of Australia's favourite indigenous classic cars, although many of the estimated 3,800 made have been modified over the years and original or restored examples are always sought after by Ford fans.