In March 1972, Ford Australia introduced it’s first iteration of what was the third generation of the Australian-made, Falcon model.
The Ford Falcon XA featured a larger, more curvaceous body and a more spacious interior from its predecessors, giving rise to the ‘coke-bottle’ moniker. The Falcon XA came in a range of versions and engine sizes including several sedans, wagons, utilities, panel vans and the return of a two-door, hardtop style, that hadn’t been offered in Australia since 1966.
Ford released a specially optioned version of the hardtop known as the ‘Superbird’, which was adorned by giant, hand-painted bird graphics on the rear quarter panels. While it was available in three distinctive colour schemes it was the Polar White with Cosmic Blue stripes, that the Superbird is most known for.
Revealed at the Sydney Motor Show in an effort to boost the struggling sales of the hardtops, the public took an instant liking to the Superbird resulting in Ford putting this classic muscle car into limited production at an asking price of AUD$3,590, featuring a 302 cubic inch Cleveland V8 engine, GT instrumentation, a luxurious interior, a rear window louvre and a blacked-out grille.
In July 1972, the limited production of the GT-HO Phase IV, an extra-high-performance version of the XA Falcon GT sedan was abandoned following considerable media scrutiny and political pressure. The Phase IV was earmarked for the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst to be driven by then, Ford factory drivers, Allan Moffat and Fred Gibson.
While Ford had to put winning the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 on hold, Allan Moffat and Ian Geoghegan came back next year to win the prestigious Hardie-Ferodo 1000 in a Ford entered XA Falcon GT Hardtop capping a Touring Car Chamoionship winning year for newly crowned ‘King Of The Mountain’, Moffat. The Hardie-Ferodo 1000 feat was repeated in 1974, in a privately owned XA Falcon GT Hardtop raced by John Goss and Kevin Bartlett.
Although competing in the sales race proved to be a difficult challenge, 3 Bathurst 1000 victories and various other trophies ensured the XA Falcon GT Hardtop would achieve ‘Legend’ status among muscle car enthusiast and collectors.
If you’re muscle car enthusiast or enjoy maintaining your own Falcon XA, it’s reassuring to know that Transgold stocks some 48 replacement suspension, transmission and engine mounting parts for the Ford Falcon range from 1960 all the way up to the current model.
We’ve got you covered!
