1982 Ford Fairmont XE Ghia ESP Sedan (Modified)

Description

The XE Falcon of 1982 is best understood as the culmination of the engineering and marketing leadership initiated by Bill Bourke back in 1965. While the XD had been brilliantly marketed, especially from the advent of the Alloy Head version in 1980, the XE (a $27 million upgrade) incorporated the needed extra engineering finesse to drive the struggling Commodore right into the doldrums. The Watts Link and coil-sprung rear end was a big step up from the traditional Falcon semi-elliptics. There was a five-speed manual gearbox option and standard equipment levels were higher across the entire range. The flagship Falcon variant was the Fairmont Ghia ESP (for European Sports Pak) and a red one graced the cover of the April 1982 edition of top-selling automotive magazine Wheels under the banner: ‘Falcon the Fantastic! How Ford turned it into a proper car.’ This options package was offered with 4.1-litre six-cylinder engine or either of the two V8s, the 4.9-litre or the truly powerful 5.8. The 5.8-litre edition of the ESP was essentially a latterday Falcon GT by another name. Think of the 1982 Fairmont Ghia ESP as Ford Australia’s answer to Peter Brock’s improved Commodores.