Ford Falcon (XY)


The Ford Falcon is a full-size car produced by Ford Australia from 1970 to 1972. It was the fourth and last iteration of the second generation of the Falcon (Australia)|Falcon] and included the Ford Fairmont —the luxury-oriented version.

Overview

The XY Falcon was released in October 1970 replacing the Ford [XW Falcon|XW Falcon]. The XY was a facelift of the XW, featuring a new divided grille and redesigned tail lights. A new range of six-cylinder and V8 engines was introduced, and improvements were made to seating, safety equipment and ride quality.

Model range

The XY Falcon range featured eight passenger vehicles and three commercial models.
  • Ford Falcon Sedan
  • Ford Falcon Wagon
  • Ford Falcon 500 Sedan
  • Ford Falcon 500 Wagon
  • Ford Futura Sedan
  • Ford Fairmont Sedan
  • Ford Fairmont Wagon
  • Ford Falcon GT Sedan
  • Ford Falcon Utility
  • Ford Falcon Van
  • Ford Falcon 500 Utility
  • Ford Falcon Limousine
  • Ford Falcon Panel Van
Futura and Fairmont models, whilst marketed as part of the XY Falcon range, were not officially referred to or badged as Falcons.
A GS Rally Pack was available as an option on the Falcon 500, Futura and Fairmont Sedans and Wagons.

Falcon GTHO Phase III

A high-performance Falcon GTHO Phase III was released in May 1971.

Falcon 4-wheel-drive utility

A four-wheel-drive version of the Utility was produced in 1972. It was marketed simply as the Falcon 4-wheel-drive utility and 432 examples were built.

Engines

New and inline six-cylinder engines replaced the smaller-capacity sixes offered in the XW. The and V8s were carried over from the previous range, though the larger capacity small block was dropped and only the Cleveland engine was available. A version of the Cleveland engine, with a two-barrelled 2V carburetor was the top option on the XY Falcon and ZD Fairmont range. The, four-barrelled, 4V version of the engine was only offered on the XY GT and GTHO.

Production

Production of the XY Falcon range totalled 118,666 vehicles. 1,557 XY Falcon GTs and 300 XY GT-HOs were built.

Replacement

The XY range was replaced by the XA Falcon in March 1972.