This is a Ford Falcon XY Ute, it’s one of the most quintessentially Australian vehicles ever made, and it’s one of the highlights of the golden age of the Australian automotive industry.
This XY Ute is powered by a 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) V8, the largest engine offered by the factory in this model, and the engine that powered the wildly successful sedan race car based on the same platform – the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III.
Fast Facts: The Ford Falcon XY Ute
- The Australian Ford Falcon entered production in 1959, initially resembling its North American counterpart before slowly developing into a distinctly local design. Early suspension issues caused by Australia’s tough rural conditions were quickly resolved, leading to decades of popularity across various body styles, including sedans, station wagons, utes, and limousines.
- Introduced in 1970, the Ford Falcon XY had a refreshed design and a range of engine offerings, from straight sixes to more powerful (and thirsty) V8s. The XY’s GTHO Phase III became legendary in Australian motorsport, taking victories at Bathurst and in multiple Touring Car Championships, helping further establish the Falcon’s national reputation.
- The Falcon XY Ute shown here, built in 1972, is powered by the potent 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Cleveland V8, originally rated at 250 bhp, though it’s easily upgradable beyond 300 bhp. It sends power back through a 3-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels, and the car has a series of upgrades like lowered suspension and a 9 inch diff.
- The vehicle is finished in black paint with gold decals, and chrome detailing, it also has period-correct chrome wheels, a front chin spoiler, a Ford-branded push-button radio and VDO clock. It’s a much sought-after classic, harking back to Australia’s automotive golden age.
The Australian Ford Falcon
The Australian Ford Falcon first entered production in 1959 for the 1960 model year. It was initially closely based on the North American Ford Falcon, but over the course of its long production run it would slowly evolve into a locally-designed and built vehicle.
The Australian Ford Falcon would remain in production over seven generations between 1959 and 2016, by which time cheap imports and the society-wide shift to SUVs had seen Falcon sales shrink to a shadow of what they once were. Image courtesy of Ford Australia.
The reason that Ford Australia had opted to build the Falcon was due to Holden, owned by General Motors by that time, enjoying major sales success with their locally-designed and built cars. Ford Australia had been assembling cars like the Zephyr (and the Consul and Zodiac derivatives) for years, but their price point and specifications hadn’t resonated with Australians the same way that Holden cars had.
The Ford Falcon would change all of this, but things got off to a rocky start with suspension failures caused by the rough driving conditions in much of rural Australia. These issues were quickly fixed, and the Falcon became one of the best-selling vehicles in the country for decades. It was offered in a huge variety of body styles including a standard four-door sedan, station wagon, panel van, ute (pickup), limousine, and more.
The Australian Ford Falcon would remain in production over seven generations between 1959 and 2016, by which time cheap imports and the society-wide shift to SUVs had seen Falcon sales shrink to a shadow of what they once were.
The Ford Falcon XY
The Ford Falcon XY made its debut in 1970 as part of the second generation of the Falcon model family. It was given a facelift to differentiate it from earlier models, and it came with a similar range of six cylinder or V8 engine options, with either manual or automatic transmissions also on offer.
One version of the Ford Falcon XY would become a legend in Australia, the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III homologation special that was built to allow a heavily upgraded version of the XY to race in the hotly contested world of Australian motorsport.
One version of the Ford Falcon XY would become a legend in Australia, the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III homologation special that was built to allow a heavily upgraded version of the XY to race in the hotly contested world of Australian motorsport. Image courtesy of Ford Australia.
This car would go on to win the 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 (Bathurst) as well as the 1972 and 1973 Australian Touring Car Championships, and a slew of other major (and minor) races across the country.
The Ford Falcon XY would only remain in production until 1972 before it made way for the third generation Falcon, starting with the XA model. This was a completely different looking car that would go on to enjoy its own success, both on the salesroom floors and on the race tracks of Australia and New Zealand.
The Ford Falcon XY Ute Shown Here
The vehicle you see here is a Ford Falcon XY Ute from the final year of production, 1972. It comes fitted with the largest and most powerful engine that the factory offered, the 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Cleveland V8 which produced 250 bhp in stock trim, but could be upgraded to well over 300 bhp relatively easily.
Power is sent back through a 3-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels, and the car rides on a 14-inch set of chrome steel wheels fitted with mixed tires front and back. It’s also fitted with twin front spotlights, a top-tinted windscreen, a VDO analogue clock, heater and ventilation controls, a Ford-branded push-button radio, and push-out front quarter light windows.
The vehicle you see here is a Ford Falcon XY Ute from the final year of production, 1972. It comes fitted with the largest and most powerful engine that the factory offered, the 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Cleveland V8.
This example has also been fitted with a front chin spoiler, a 9 inch differential, and it has been given lowered suspension front and back. It’s finished in black paint with contrasting gold “hockey stick” side decals, it has a black vinyl-trimmed interior, with chrome and wood veneer trim.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Victoria, Australia, out of long-term ownership. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Collecting Cars
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.