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The last Ford Falcon produced with an Australian-built V8 is set to be auctioned for the second time in less than two years – but will it beat its previous result of $355,000?
The final Ford Falcon powered by an Australian-made V8 went up for auction less than two years after it sold for $355,000.
In May 2021, this Ford Falcon XE ESP V8 was sold $354,759 in a Grays Online auction – excluding the 7.5 percent auction fee.
The historic Ford Falcon – a Ford Fairmont Ghia ESP by its formal name – the last to be built with a ‘Cleveland’ Australian V8 engine, and a gold plaque on its dashboard documenting its importance.
When it went on sale last year, its odometer had recorded just 60km since it rolled off the Broadmeadows production line on 25 November 1982.
Listed through an online auction house Collecting Carsthe Ford Falcon appears to have logged an additional 7km on its odometer since it was last sold, now standing at 67km.
Under the bonnet is a 4.9-litre V8 engine – not the larger 5.8-litre – mated to a four-speed manual transmission, sending power to the rear wheels.
After importing the initial batch of ‘Cleveland’ engines from the US town of the same name in 1970, Ford Australia began building its own V8s in Geelong from 15 November 1971.
While Ford continued to produce Falcons beyond 1982, it was produced exclusively with six-cylinder engines through the ‘XF’ and ‘EA’ generations until 1991 when the ‘EB’ was launched – which was the US-made that ‘Windsor’ V8 engine became an option on some grades.
US-made V8 engines remained in the Ford Falcon line-up until the Broadmeadows assembly line closed in October 2016.
However, the last Ford Falcon of all time was powered by an Australian-made 4.0-liter in-line six-cylinder engine – and Ford kept it.
Like all Fairmont Ghia ESP (for European Sports Pack), this car for sale has a two-tone paint job – Silver Gray on top and Charcoal on the bottom.
The 15-inch gold ‘snowflake’ wheels are still fitted with the original Uniroyal WildCat wheels that rolled off the production line more than 40 years ago.
Inside, ‘Scheel’ sports seats and a Pioneer cassette player (with FM radio) represent two of the sought-after features of the era.
According to the listing, the Falcon was not kept by Ford Australia when it left Broadmeadows in November 1982 – instead it was delivered to Denis McEniery’s Denmac Ford dealership in Brisbane and was owned by the family until it was sold last year.
This is the second high-profile Fairmont Ghia ESP to head to auction this year.
In April, Grays Online listed an ex-Ford Australia press car, fitted with a more powerful 5.8-litre Cleveland V8. It sold for $170,100.
The Collecting Cars auction is scheduled for 4:30pm AEDT on 15 December 2022, with bidding up to $80,000 when we last checked.
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