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2021 Shannons Spring Timed Online Auction
Lot
165

1973 Ford Falcon XA Superbird Coupe

PASSED IN

Melbourne

Passed In

Specifications

Engine 5.7 litre V8
Gearbox Three Speed Automatic
Body Work Coupe
Colour Green
Interior White
Trim Vinyl
Wheels Styled Steel Sports
Brakes Disc/Disc

Description

This lot is no longer available

Launched in March 1972, the XA was something of a milestone car in Ford Australia’s history, being the first car completely designed and built in this country. The XA marked a change in direction for styling, with a larger, more curvaceous shape and for the first time since the mid-1960s a muscular two-door hardtop model was offered, featuring a lowered roofline. Ford released a specially optioned version of the hardtop (Option package RPO 77) known as the Superbird, available only in three distinctive colour combinations: Polar White with Cosmic Blue stripes, Yellow Fire with Walnut Glow stripes and perhaps most striking of all, Lime Glaze with Jewel Green stripes. Launched as a marketing exercise to encourage sales of the slow moving hardtops, the Superbird show car featured giant, hand-painted bird graphics down each side. The public reaction at the 1973 Melbourne Motor Show was such that Ford put the Superbird into limited production at the asking price of $3590. These XA hardtops came with a 302ci V8 with either a manual or automatic transmission, sports suspension, Grand Sport Rally Pack instrumentation, colour-keyed styled steel sports wheels and a rear window louvre. Significantly, the huge Superbird graphics were toned down for the production version to smaller decals on the rear quarters, though the full-size Superbird decal was available as an official dealer-applied Ford option. Two-tone paint work, a blacked-out grille and (smaller) Superbird badging completed the RPO 77 package. Although exact production figures are not confirmed, it is generally thought around 750 Superbirds were produced and they are hard to find today, with a strong following among Ford collectors.