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25 years after its original release on Australian roads, Ford will mark the 25th anniversary of the Falcon with a special display at the Ford Broadmeadows Plant, the Geelong Discovery Centre and the Sandown 500 V8 Supercar race.
Ford built only 400 XC Falcon Cobras, a vehicle that has become one of the most collectible cars in Australia.
On Friday September 12, exactly 25 years after the first of those cars came off the assembly line in 1978, more than 50 of them will stage a homecoming at Broadmeadows.
Ford President Geoff Polites and Ford Racing legend Allan Moffat will play host to the Cobra enthusiasts and their treasured cars to celebrate the occasion. The immaculately prepared Cobras will line up under the huge Ford corporate sign on the lawns in front of the company's Head Office.
On Saturday the Cobras will travel to Geelong to continue festivities at the Ford Discovery Centre with an open invitation to all members of the public to come and see the cars.
To top off the weekend the cars will take part in a parade lap around Sandown International Raceway ahead of round nine of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, the Betta Electrical 500.
The lap of Sandown is set down for 11.15am, with the lap aimed at energising the massive crowd expecting to see Ford chase its eighth straight win of the season.
The story of how the Cobra came to be built is quite unique in Australian motor vehicle manufacturing. Since the early 1970s Ford had experienced an excellent public response to its classically designed Falcon Hardtop.
By the end of 1977 the XC Falcon range was coming to an end and the new XD model was almost ready. The era of the GT Falcon had ended with the last of the XB models and there was no 'hero car' GT in the XC range.
To reclaim that 'hero car' image Assistant Managing Director of Ford Australia Edsel Ford II, great grandson of the founder Henry Ford, created the Falcon Cobra.
A great fan of the Shelby Cobra Mustangs, Edsel put forward the idea that Ford build the cars, paint them white and add the wide blue US-style racing stripes lengthwise across the car. Adding to the legend was that each car should have a numbered plaque on the dashboard.
Fitted with either the 4.9 or 5.7-litre V8 engines and manual or automatic transmissions, these striking cars had sports seats with unique trim, rear deck spoiler, quartz halogen lights, 4-wheel disc brakes, driving lights, bonnet scoops, Bathurst Globe alloy wheels and a host of other equipment. The final feature was the decal of a coiled, ready-to-strike Cobra on each side!
When the dealers saw the Cobra they ordered the lot on the spot and all 400 were snapped up just as quick by the customers!
Despite massive demand for an extra production, Ford kept its promise and never produced another XC Cobra.
The very first Cobra off the line - No 001 - was a 4.9-litre V8 automatic. It was purchased by Chris Noonan, then secretary to Ted Gardner, Ford's Director of Manufacturing.
FALCON XC COBRA - SPECIFICATIONS
| Engines: |
4.9-litre, OHV, V8,
4-barrel carburettor, 9.2:1 compression ratio,
202bhp (151kW) @ 4000rpm, 268lb/ft (364Nm) torque @3000rpm.
5.7-litre, OHV, V8, 4-barrel carburetor, 8.9:1 compression ratio,
217bhp (162kW) @ 4500rpm, 317lb/ft (429Nm) torque @ 2700rpm.
Dual exhaust system.
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| Transmission: |
4-speed manual, all
synchro, floor shift.
Ratios - 1st 2.46:1; 2nd 1,78:1; 3rd 1.27:1; 4th 1.00:1 - Reverse 2.47:1.
3-speed automatic, T-Bar floor shift.
Ratios - 1st 2.40:1; 2nd 1.47:1; 3rd 1.00:1 - Reverse 2.00:1
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| Rear Axle: |
Limited Slip Differential
- Manual 3.00:1; Auto 2.75:1 |
| Suspension: |
Front - Independent
with coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers and stabiliser bar.
Rear - Live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers,
18mm stabiliser bar.
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| Brakes: |
Front and rear - power
assisted 286mm diameter ventilated discs. |
| Wheels: |
15" Globe Bathurst
alloy. |
| Tyres: |
ER70H15 textile radial. |
| Performance: |
0-100km/h - 8.9 seconds;
Standing 400m - 16.0 seconds. |
| Fuel Tank: |
17.5 gallons (79.5
litres). |
| Exterior: |
Snowhite body colour
with blue racing stripes over bonnet, roof and boot.
Tinted band laminated screen; Quartz Halogen headlights; Long range driving
lights; front spoiler with air scoops for front brakes; rear deck lid spoiler;
bonnet scoops; tinted rear window with demister; styled right and left hand
rear view mirrors; 4-jet screen washers.
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| Interior: |
Scheel reclining sports
front seats and rear bench seat with special Cobra trim; Cut pile carpets;
AM push-button radio with lock-down aerial; Comprehensive sports instrumentation;
'Soft-feel' sports steering wheel'; Power-assisted ventilation; 3-speed
heater/demister with illuminated controls; Steering column stalk for turn
and lane change signals, high/low beam' headlight flasher and horn; 2-speed
screen wipers with anti-lift vane fitted to driver's side; Prismatic day/night
interior mirror. |
| Options: |
Air-conditioning; Power
windows; Power steering. |
AT THAT POINT IN TIME
- When the XC Falcon Cobras were rolling out to dealerships during October 1978, the world was mourning the death of Pope John Paul I and Australians were acknowledging the passing of an era with the death of Johnny O'Keefe.
- John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were topping the hit parades with 'Summer Nights' from their new movie 'Grease' that was packing the cinemas.
- John De Lorean announced that he would build his new stainless steel De Lorean sports car in Ireland and British Leland announced the end of the Leyland Mini in Australia while Holden released its downsized Commodore VB.
- In the field of Formula One, Mario Andretti became World Champion.
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