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On Sunday's Top Gear, Richard Hammond concluded - upon driving the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst - that if you want a proper, non-boring exec saloon, there's only one place to head: Australia.
Further proof arrives today in the shape of the FPV F6 E. FPV stands for Ford Performance Vehicles - the Blue Oval's equivalent of HSV - and the F6 E is a lairy, posh, rear-wheel-drive muscle car aiming to woo sharp-suited businessmen from their BMW M5s and Audi S4s.
Like the Audi, the F6 E is powered by a forced induction six-cylinder engine - in this case, a 4.0-litre turbocharged straight-six putting out 415bhp and 417lb ft of torque.
Impressive figures - and right up there with the VXR8, if not its supercharged Bathurst cousin - but we can't help thinking any proper Aussie muscle car needs a proper V8 under the bonnet.
Ford hasn't released performance figures for the F6 E yet, but expect it to reach 60mph in under five seconds while billowing out great plumes of tyre smoke.
Even so, it's a much more subtle affair than the VXR8 Bathurst in the visual department. Ford describes the F6 E's styling as ‘subdued', but that's nothing a few bolt-on body panels and pearly white paint won't fix, right?
Now all we need is a ute version...
Ford takes on the VXR8
It’s another non-boring Aussie muscle saloon to keep Hammond happy, this time from the Blue Oval
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P211 commented on this article
at 12:52 pm on 04 August 2009
cant help thinking they just copied vauxhall....
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pw4. commented on this article
at 01:03 pm on 04 August 2009
FPV does utes too :-) P211: the main touring car series in Australia is Ford & Holden (Vauxhall) V8s, both with various forms of spin-off road-car tuning arms over the years - but Holden has long had the upper hand with the road cars, and also has the larger export program, which I guess is how the VXR8 ended up in the UK long before Ford's competitor. And just for fun, there's a V8 ute race series too (again, Ford & Holden...), which usually turns on some entertaining racing.
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Motorhead commented on this article
at 02:11 pm on 04 August 2009
Ford & Holden have been building large performance sedans in Australia since the 60's, Ford & FPV also do more powerful V8 versions in sedan & ute.
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kiwichris commented on this article
at 02:16 pm on 04 August 2009
Don't you Poms worry... the F6 is just as good as any V8 that Ford make down here in Australia. If not better. The GT (FPV's V8 model) has only 7 BHP more, and 11lb ft of torque less. And there is a F6 Ute.
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AML-DBR9 commented on this article
at 02:37 pm on 04 August 2009
Looks rubbish. VXR8 looks so much better and the bathurst looks even better. Also the sound of the Bathurst was bloody brilliant
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