{{Short description|Australian full-size car}} {{For|a complete overview of all Falcon models|Ford Falcon (Australia)}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox automobile | image = File:Ford Falcon 500 Sedan (XR).JPG | caption = Ford Falcon 500 Sedan (XR) | name = Ford Falcon (XR) <br /> Ford Fairmont (XR) | manufacturer = Ford Australia | production = September 1966 – March 1968 | class = Full-size car | platform = | body_style = 4-door sedan<br />5-door station wagon<br />2-door coupe utility<br />2-door panel van | engine = 170 ci (2.8 L) Inline 6<br />200 ci (3.3 L) Inline 6<br />289 ci (4.7 L) "Windsor" V8 | transmission = 3-speed manual<br />3-speed automatic<br />3-speed Cruis-O-Matic/4-speed manual(GT only) | length = {{convert|4689|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|1875|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | height = {{convert|1389|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | weight = {{convert|1333|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}} | predecessor = Ford Falcon (XP) | successor = Ford Falcon (XT) | related = Ford Fairlane (ZA) | designer = }}

The '''Ford Falcon (XR)''' is a full-sized car produced by Ford Australia from 1966 to 1968. It was the first of the second generation of the Falcon and also included the '''Ford Fairmont (XR)''', the luxury-oriented version.

==Overview== The XR series was introduced in September 1966. Styling was based on the third-generation 1966 US Ford Falcon, and it was promoted as the "Mustang-bred Falcon". It was the first Australian Falcon to be offered with a V8 engine, the {{convert|200|bhp|abbr=on}}, 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) Windsor unit.<ref name="specs">[http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/falcon_XR_technical_specifications.htm Falcon XR technical_specifications] Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 5 January 2009</ref> The XR marked the first time a V8 engine could be optioned in all trim levels of an Australian car, V8s having previously been reserved for the more upmarket variants. The 144 cubic inch (2.4 L) six-cylinder engine was deleted for the XR series, leaving the 170 cubic inch (2.8 L) six as the base Falcon engine. A 200 cubic inch (3.3 L) six was also available and a 200ci super pursuit motor.<ref name="specs" />

The XR series was initially offered in 9 different models: Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont sedans, Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont wagons, Falcon and Falcon 500 utilities, and the Falcon Van.<ref name="specs" /> The new wagons shared the {{convert|111|in|mm|adj=on}} wheelbase with the XR sedans, unlike the 1966 US Falcon wagons which featured a {{convert|115|in|mm|adj=on}} wheelbase.<ref name="Darwin160">Norm Darwin, The History of Ford in Australia, 1986, page 160</ref> The Falcon 500 replaced the Falcon Deluxe of the XP series<ref name="Darwin160" /> and the two-door hardtop body style available in the XP series was not offered in the XR range.

The Falcon XR won the ''Wheels'' Car of the Year award in 1966, giving Ford Falcon two straight wins.<ref>[https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/features/ford-falcon/1608/1967-ford-falcon-xr-1966-wheels-car-of-the-year 1967 Ford Falcon XR: 1966 Wheels Car of The Year, www.wheelsmag.com.au] Retrieved 14 June 2017</ref>

The Falcon XR was the first Falcon to be assembled at the Ford New Zealand assembly plant at Seaview, the previous XL, XM and XP models being previously imported fully built up from Australia, essentially only in station wagon form.

===Falcon GT===

The marketing focus on the Falcon's relationship with the Mustang's sporty appeal led to Ford introducing a Falcon GT variant of the XR in 1967, featuring a {{convert|225|bhp|abbr=on}} version of the 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) Windsor V8 engine, sourced from the Ford Mustang. The GT heralded the dawn of the Aussie muscle car. All of the original XR GTs were painted in the colour GT Gold, except for eight that were Gallaher Silver and another five that were Russet Bronze, Sultan Maroon, Polar White, Avis White and Ivy Green. The non-gold GTs, while having the same specifications, are the rarest of the early Australian muscle cars.

<gallery widths="200px heights=150px"> File:1966 Ford Falcon (XR) sedan (18634088514).jpg|Ford XR Falcon sedan File:1967 Ford XR Falcon 500 Sedan (17032749301).jpg|Ford XR Falcon 500 sedan (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:Ford XR Falcon 500 Station Wagon.jpg|Ford XR Falcon 500 wagon (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:Ford Falcon XR Wagon (15738414525).jpg|Ford XR Falcon 500 wagon (with optional Deluxe wheel covers) File:1966-68 XR Fairmont==.JPG|Ford XR Fairmont sedan File:1966 Ford Fairmont (XR) sedan (23611684231).jpg|Ford XR Fairmont sedan (with GT wheel covers) File:03 XR GT GT Gold (T) 684 made==.JPG|Ford XR Falcon GT sedan File:Ford Falcon XR GT (16026861517).jpg|Ford XR Falcon GT sedan File:Ford XR Falcon ute 1.jpg|Ford XR Falcon utility (with non-standard wheels) File:Ford XR Falcon ute 2.jpg|Ford XR Falcon utility (with non-standard wheels) File:1967 Ford Falcon (XR) 500 utility (18347582806).jpg|Ford XR Falcon 500 utility (with non-standard wheels) File:1966 Ford XR Falcon panel van (7026503017).jpg|Ford XR Falcon panel van (with non-standard wheels) File:1966 Ford XR Falcon panel van (6880405758).jpg|Ford XR Falcon panel van (with non-standard wheels) </gallery>

==Motorsport== [[File:Ford XR Falcon GT of Kris Argento.JPG|thumb|left|A "race replica" of the XR Falcon GT which won the 1967 Gallaher 500]] Ford Works Team manager/driver Harry Firth, and a young Fred Gibson won the 1967 Gallaher 500 at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst driving an XR Falcon GT.<ref>Bill Tuckey, No substitute for cubic inches: Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1981, pages 122 to 129</ref><ref>Official Programme, The Gallaher 500, Bathurst, 1 October 1967, page 37</ref> Firth and Gibson won the race by 11 seconds from their Sydney-based teammates Ian and Leo Geoghegan. The Geoghegan Falcon was initially flagged in first, but a protest from Firth resulted in a recount of laps and the win being awarded to Firth and Gibson.

With the Falcon powered by a 289-cubic-inch Ford V8 engine, it was the first ever Bathurst 500/1000 won by a V8-powered car. Prior to 1967, the Mount Panorama Circuit had been regarded as too tough on the larger V8 cars (primarily the Studebaker Lark), and had been the domain of smaller cars such as the Morris Cooper S and Ford's own Cortina GT500. {{Clear}}

==References== {{Commons category|Ford Falcon (XR)}} {{Reflist}} {{Ford Falcon}}

XR Category:Cars of Australia Category:Cars introduced in 1966 Category:Cars discontinued in 1968 XR Falcon Category:Sedans Category:Station wagons Category:Coupé utilities Category:Vans Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles