1960 Ford Fairlane 500 Sedan (RHD)

 

Named after Henry Ford’s estate in Michigan, the first three generations of Fairlanes produced between 1955 and 1961 were all full-sized cars, before the nameplate was used on upmarket versions of the compact Falcon. The Fairlane started out as Ford’s most expensive model in 1955, replacing the Crestline as the top trim level available, positioned ahead of the base Mainline and intermediate Customline. Restyled after two years and significantly longer and lower, 1957 saw a reshuffle of Ford’s model range, with the Custom series the new base model, the Fairlane the intermediate level and the Fairlane 500 the top offering. Completely redesigned with all-new styling for 1959, Fords built that year are regarded as some of the most handsome designs to emerge from Dearborn. Ford’s stylists exercised restraint in an era of crassness, avoiding the excessive use of chrome ornamentation and huge fins that characterised many of its competitors. From the sculpted sides to the distinctive circular tail light assemblies, every detail was nicely resolved and the new model was billed as the “World’s Most Beautifully Proportioned Car”. The Fairlane was again the intermediate level full-size Ford, available in Town or Club Sedan guises. Both models were available with either six or eight cylinder engines under the bonnet, either of 223-cid capacity (six) or 292-cid (V8). Ford also assembled and sold a limited quantity of these Fairlanes in Australia between September 1959 and 1962, all sourced from Canada in CKD form and available with just one engine – the 332-cid V8. Based on their American counterpart, the 1959 models were updated for 1960 with a new grille and trim lifted from the Canadian Meteor while power was raised from 204 to 220 horsepower.