1966 Ford Falcon XP Sedan

Description

The final facelift of Ford’s original Australian Falcon, the XP range was introduced in February 1965 with revised sheet metal, interiors and – on the Fairmont at least – the option of power-assisted Girling disc brakes, a first for an Australian-built car. From a styling standpoint, XP looked both more modern and aggressive thanks to a different front-end treatment to the outgoing XM, with a flatter bonnet and squared off lines. The XP Falcons were available with three engines, the basic 144 Economy Six, the 170 Pursuit Six and the 200 Super Pursuit Six. Ford offered a choice of transmissions, including the locally designed and built Borg-Warner Type 35 automatic. The model line-up was extended to include the base Falcon and more upmarket Deluxe and Futura models, the latter replaced by the Fairmont from September 1965. In addition to the four-door sedan, Ford also offered the XP in station wagon and stylish hardtop coupe guises, along with the usual commercials. The XP drew rapturous praise at the time of its launch, winning Wheels “Car of the Year” award in 1965 and is generally regarded as the best of the first generation Falcons by enthusiasts today, thanks to the added virtues of stronger brakes, better handling and improved build quality. By the time production ended in September 1966 some 70,954 examples of the XP series had been manufactured and today the model is still held in high regard, a firm favourite with collectors, enthusiasts and Ford lovers of all ages.