- Messages
- 14,860
- Name
- Derek
FPV's F6 isn't just the company's best car by some margin, it's also quite probably the greatest performance car Australia has ever produced.
Bill McKinnon | June 13, 2008
http://imageshack.us
These may be the last days of fossil-fuelled performance, but as far as the Australian car industry is concerned, the internal combustion era will end with a whopping great 300kW-plus bang rather than a whimper.
Whether your response to this is “Good on ’em!” or “Irresponsible bastards”, history will show that the 2008 F6 from Ford Performance Vehicles was one of Australia’s great cars.
It has taken a while to get it right, though. The 2004 F6 Typhoon I drove after the car’s launch was a real disappointment, being considerably less coherent, polished and reliable than its donor BA XR6 Turbo. FPV, it seemed, had stretched its unique force-fed, big-six performance strand too tight.
The 2008 F6 drives like a jet – both literally and metaphorically.
Rather than the mechanicals dominating the senses, it is the rush, compression and expulsion of big volumes of gas that defines this engine. You hear it spin the turbine to a high-pitched, wicked whistle. When you lift off the accelerator, excess pressure flutters off the turbo compressor and through the blow-off valve. And when the Garrett turbocharger is pumping the full 0.91 bar (13.3psi) into those cylinders, you feel all that air (and fuel) launch the F6 up the road with an effortless, exhilarating violence few engines can match
In fact, I can think of only two: AMG’s 6.2-litre V8, and Porsche’s 3.6-litre twin turbo flat six.
FPV’s finest now produces 310kW – 40kW more than previously – at 5500rpm. However, it’s the torque that really does the business, with 565Nm (a 15Nm increase) available from just 1950rpm all the way to 5200rpm.
Neither the Blue nor the Red corner has a V8 with this spread of grunt, or as much of it. So the fact that the F6, matched with the ZF six speed auto in our test car, beats both its familial and the General’s V8s against the clock comes as no surprise.
While a best of 5.2sec for the 0-100km/h trip is perhaps a little slower than expected, it’s still quicker by our ‘two up with half a tank of juice’ testing regime than any of its direct competitors.
It’s a result achieved with conventional performance engineering. Basically, the boys have put stronger pistons and rods in the thing and cranked up the boost as much as they reckon they can get away with.
Let’s hope their calculations are correct, and FPV’s claims of thorough validation and durability testing in high ambient temperatures are – this time – confirmed in a trouble-free run for customers.
Come summer, we’ll find out.
Other significant work includes new intake and exhaust manifolds and a super-size intercooler (now with no grille in front of it) which brings a 45 percent improvement in heat dissipation and a 34 percent reduction in boost pressure drop. A short air intake reduces thermal losses and contributes to improved throttle response.
A lower compression ratio (down from 8.7:1 to 8.5:1), new camshafts and ECU calibrations complete the upgrade, which is as much about improving efficiency and driveability as it is about outright performance.
As a consequence, FPV quotes ADR81/01 figures of 12.3L/100km for the six speed manual and 12.1L/100km for the auto, reductions of seven and nine percent respectively.
The six-speed manual is the Tremec TR6060, which replaces the BF’s T56 in other FG’s as well. The ZF automatic’s torque-off/torque-on cylinder cut-out sequence on full-throttle shifts has been shortened.
While FPV’s efforts to make the engine’s delivery stronger and more seamless has been spectacularly successful, it still has that defining high-performance turbo attribute – the possession of several personalities. These range from docile to manic, even with the supposedly civilising influence of an auto factored in.
You can waft around town, or loaf along the highway pulling just 1500rpm at 100km/h in sixth, with absolutely no idea of the potential under the your right foot and the boost gauge undisturbed. Our test car’s computer showed just 7.6L/100km on the drive from Tullamarine down the highway to South Gippsland. Even Bob Brown would struggle to moan about that.
Squeeze the pedal and a river of turbo torque begins to flow to the back wheels as the engine passes through 2500rpm.
Between mild and wild are infinite variations in how you get your performance, however in all but flat out mode it’s served with a smooth segue and accurately matched to your wishes 99 percent of the time.
Crack the whip and the beast responds immediately. Revs rise instantly and the engine drives hard to 3750rpm – launching the F6 from rest with no loss of traction, even with the stability control off – then pauses for a moment before an almighty lunge from 4000 to the redline and rev limiter at 6250rpm. Although 6000rpm is the nominal redline, the engine will give you the extra 250rpm for one second only. That’s enough. Grip is momentarily broken at 5000rpm, but with no noticeable slowing of progress or twitch in the tail.
The engine hammers through the lower gears so quickly that a set of wheel-mounted shifter paddles would be useful. As it is, using the lever brings immaculately crisp, fast shifts, as smooth as any big-buck Euro, and with no drivetrain lash or racket either, it’s a remarkable improvement on the previous generations of F6.
Ratios are chosen so you can keep the engine nailed in the 4000-6000rpm zone. Finding a safe, lonely place to do it is another story.
In the wet, though, care and a sensitive right foot are required even with the protection of stability control. The arrival of serious boost will unhook the back end from a damp surface at only 3000rpm or so. Would-be heroes who disengage the stability control and their brain at the same time will run straight into nightmare territory in this car. But it won’t be through the car’s lack of dynamic ability.
As with the FG XRs, the F6 lifts the Falcon’s handling and steering from good to almost sublime. You’ll notice a much more intimate connection with the road than in previous FPVs, more precise, linear steering – albeit with a touch of kickback on relatively smooth roads that could become an issue over rougher Aussie tarmac – and a lighter, better balanced, more responsive feel overall. You can trust the F6 at speeds where you would have rapidly lost faith in previous models.
Again, there’s nothing flash in the engineering, which retains the same suspension geometry as XR6, using recalibrated monotube dampers, stiffer springs and 19-inch alloys with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres.
Four-piston front/single-piston rear Brembos with cross-drilled rotors offer lovely pedal feel and easy modulation at light pressures, decent power when you need it and a pedal that’s about half a hectare in area, so you can’t miss it.
The ride is almost a GT blend on smooth Victorian blacktop, but, like the steering, it may become untidy on more testing bitumen. We’ll get an F6 in NSW to see if this is the case.
Given that it will only be available for the next couple of years, the 4.0-litre turbocharged FPV F6 should carve a place for itself in Ford’s temple of automotive gods. And not just in the Australian context, either. Where else on the planet does Ford produce a sports sedan that gets anywhere near the F6 in overall ability?
The answer is nowhere. So why isn’t Ford Australia knocking back export orders left, right and centre? If great cars get what they deserve, it should be.
Meanwhile, the FPV F6 is exclusively available for us to enjoy. And believe me, if you try it out you most certainly will.
Wheels - Boost master - FPV F6
The car looks sensational, with impressive handling and performance level to back it up.
Yeah, I assume you are talking about those eye patches right? People either love it or hate it with a passion. You can have them in body colour if you want.
