25 Years of Drive: We uncover Ford’s secret plan for a Falcon-based SUV
Story originally published 21 October, 1999
Ford Australia has confirmed its worst-kept secret – the company wants to build a four-wheel drive version of the Falcon.Ford’s desire to expand the Falcon range with a 4WD wagon was revealed by The Age in May but, until now, Ford had publicly dismissed the idea.
Ford’s president of its Asia Pacific Operations, Terry DeJonckheere, who was in Australia last week, has confirmed that a 4WD Falcon is on the drawing board but stressed that a plan had yet to be finally approved. The sticking point has been Ford’s reluctance to add yet another so-called sport utility vehicle to its already bulging SUV line-up.
-
Ford’s original R7 concept debuted at the 2002 Australian Motor Show
However, a day-long meeting in Melbourne last week to review the project is said to have convinced DeJonckheere that Ford Australia should build the vehicle.
The meeting is said to have included looking at full-size design proposals.
Now Ford Australia must make the numbers add up for what is expected to be a $75 to $150 million project. It is said to be codenamed Raptor. If approved soon, the Raptor could be on the market by the end of 2002 or the first half of 2003.
However, Ford will have to get a move on as its arch-rival, Holden, is also expected to head down the 4WD wagon route with the Commodore.
Holden’s chairman and managing director, Peter Hanenberger, told Drive last week that a 4WD was the most likely option if the company decided to build a third model off the Commodore platform.
This model is expected to arrive post-2005, when the next-generation Commodore goes on sale. However, Hanenberger said the third model could go on sale before the present Commodore died.
Hanenberger also confirmed that the Commodore Coupe would go on sale late in 2001.
Ford Australia wants to develop a five or seven-seat 4WD wagon that would sit on the Falcon’s long-wheelbase chassis, which is used for the current station wagons and the Fairlane/LTD luxury cars.
The Raptor will get an all-new body in a bid to maximise the vehicle’s off-road looks and interior space. Drive has been told that Raptor would have a different windscreen to the Falcon sedan.
Ford is tipped to fit a diesel engine to the off-roader (possibly a 2.7-litre unit), a move that will open up significant export markets.
Development work is already under way, with 4WD Falcon wagons and utes seen running around the Ford factory and at the company’s proving ground at the You Yangs.
Raptor may use a part-time 4WD system, which would be engaged by the driver.
But no matter what driveline is specified, it is expected to employ the new, independent double-wishbone system that is fitted to the upmarket versions of the present Falcon.
Ford is also expected to introduce a 4WD version of the Falcon ute.
To gauge reaction to Raptor and a smaller, light-duty 4WD wagon, Ford will import either late next year or in early 2002 the MY Mercury concept car it displayed at the motor show in Sydney.
The MY Mercury, like the Raptor, is a ‘cross-over’ vehicle, one that attempts to blend the load-carrying and off-road ability of a 4WD with the space of a people mover and the on-road refinement and economy of a car.
If the Raptor gets the go-ahead, it is expected to cost between $40,000 and $55,000.
So, what happened next?
Ford got its wish for a locally-developed SUV version of its popular Falcon sedan, the Ford Territory (not Raptor!) going on sale in 2004. Based on Ford’s EA169 platform that also underpinned the Falcon, the Territory proved an immediate hit with buyers.
Power came from Ford’s venerable 4.0-litre straight-six ‘Barra’ engine, although slightly detuned. In the Territory, the Barra initially made 182kW and 380Nm, but those outputs grew modestly through successive model updates.
Prices at launch ranged from $38,990 for the entry-level TX rear-wheel-drive Territory to $53,290 for the Ghia with all-wheel drive. It was available as either a five- or seven-seater.
Several Australian firsts underpinned the Territory, not least of which was its mantle as the first (and so far, only) SUV designed and built in Australia. It was also the first Australian-built vehicle equipped with electronic stability control.
Ford sold 178,214 Territories between 2004 and 2016, with the high point (23,454 sales) coming in just its second year on sale, underscoring the shift by Australians towards family SUVs.
The Territory remained in production until 2016 through five facelifts and updates – SX, SY, SYII, SZ, and SZ II – before Ford pulled the pin on local production on 7 October, 2016.
While the headlines surrounding the closure of Australian production centred on the demise of the iconic Ford Falcon family sedan, the Territory’s demise was often overlooked.
Ford’s arch-rival Holden, also tried to tap into the burgeoning SUV market, releasing the Holden Adventra in August 2004. Based on the VY Commodore, the all-wheel-drive high-riding wagon looked like the compromise it was, especially when standing alongside the bespoke SUV design of the Ford Territory. Unsurprisingly, customers flocked to Ford, leaving the Adventra to stagnate in dealerships before Holden pulled the pin in 2006.
The post 25 Years of Drive: We uncover Ford’s secret plan for a Falcon-based SUV appeared first on Drive.