The launch of Ford Performance Vehicles!
In an attempt to better compete with HSV, in late 2002 Tickford became Ford Performance Vehicles, or FPV. While the Tickford name and their work was well respected, the branding didn’t necessarily provide a solid link to the Ford brand on which the cars were based. While I despise the arrogance of Holden and HSV from that era, I openly admit the red team were second to none for brand building and recognition.
With Geoff Polites and David Flint at the helm, they worked towards a more unified and recognizable link between Ford, FPV performance cars and the FPR race team. While I loved the Tickford Wings, the oval shaped bird of prey logo was instantly identifiable and followed a similar type of logo connection between Holden lion and HSV lion/race helmet.
The conditions needed to be a FPV dealer was also relaxed in an effort to get more dealers on board and hopefully sell more cars. From what my uncle told me, the hoops a dealer had to jump through to gain access to the FTe range was rather difficult, as such many didn’t bother. Again, another reason why the T-Series, Cougar and Mustang never sold in big numbers. It’s telling that under the new structure, my small country town dealer became a FPV dealer. Joining the new dealer network, every FPV buyer got a performance driving course as part of the deal.
The FPV brand was launched at the Sydney Motor Show (remember those?) at the end of 2002. That year, Holden and HSV drew all the attention with two vehicles that went nowhere, the SSX Hatchback and the Monaro based HRT 427. The FPV brand launch went on to preview the return of the Falcon GT and its Ute counterpart, the Pursuit. The FPV GT and Pursuit followed on from the momentum that was built with the T3 T-Series and Pursuit 250, offering balanced package of upgrades that FPV termed “Total Performance”. Brakes, suspension, steering, engine and styling designed to work together without one element overpowering the other. Where a HSV was all about the engine and shouty styling in a blunt instrument kind of way, the FPV offering was a more balanced and technically sophisticated proposition.
Those cars at the Sydney show, and the supplied press shots, depicted the basic FPV concept, lacking some of the finer details that would surface later.
Those changes included a Tri-Slot lower splitter with an accent colour on GT and Pursuit, along with the smoother bonnet bulge. The availability of stripes came at the last minute after the GT Club insisted on their inclusion. The GT-P kept the single blade lower splitter, although in accent colouring. Overall, the FPV exterior package consisted of unique front and rear bumpers, vented side skirts and that massive spoiler on the sedans. The Pursuit carried over the side skirts and rear bumper cladding introduced on the AU III Pursuit 250. Wheels were 18-inch across all three models, and FPV insignia emblems fitted to the front quarter panel and boot lid.
Mechanically, the Boss 290 5.4 V8 powered all three. This engine consisted of the cast iron truck block, topped with DOHC
4V alloy heads and joining a bunch of locally made components such as the intake and exhaust manifolds. The engines were built on a small production line at FPV, building engines for both the FPV range and XR8 models. The Tremec T45 5-speed manual carried over from the T3, the 4-speed auto was specifically upgraded to withstand the additional torque. The standard brakes consisted of blue FPV branded PBR calipers with grooved rotors. Standard on GT-P and optional on GT and Pursuit, the Brembo system with 4-piston calipers all round was carried over from the T3.
The interior featured a number of FPV specific colours and trim finishes, alloy pedals and the much-hated red flashing starter button. The seats were either retrimmed XR items for the GT and Pursuit, the GT-P got some Recaro-style items that were pretty over the top.
On a personal note, my previously mentioned uncle got me a flamethrower ride in a FPV GT shortly after launch. That car was in Blood Orange with black stripes and a manual gearbox. Even after all these years, the most vivid memory of that experience was the delicious noise that Boss 290 made. If I wasn’t already hooked on Ford previous to that moment, the ride in that GT had me positively impaled!
I was also given the FPV promo DVD, featuring brand ambassador and test driver John Bowe.