FPV's Flint won't light up on hot Falcons
BY BRUCE NEWTON | 28th Aug 2003
Mr Flint, who heads the company that builds the GT and GT-P V8 sports sedans and Pursuit Ute, is concerned that new arrivals in the hot car game get the quality right.
He was speaking as two new go-fast BA Falcon projects broke cover recently, both of them closely linked with V8 Supercars.
But Mr Flint emphasised he was not directing his comments at any tuner in particular, more concerned that Falcon’s reputation is enhanced or, as he put it, the "Blue Oval is polished".
"Where I have an issue is that with my customers’ hat on, I want to be sure whatever is out there is both efficacious from an engineering perspective and safe," he said.
"We spend an awful lot of money testing, testing, testing, testing – making sure the cars are safe, the cars are a good, balanced package – and that’s what we do for a living. And I do suspect that many others that are out there do not do that."The new V8 Supercar-linked Falcon roadcar projects are Dick Johnson Racing’s XR8 and the XR6 Turbo-based PWR300, which is now on sale.
The DJR project is planned to produce 300kW versions of both the XR8 and the XR6 Turbo, with the first examples destined to be on sale before the end of the year.
The PWR300 is BA turbo-based and actually pumps out 316kW. It has been developed by PWR Performance Products, a Queensland company owned by father and son Kees and Paul Weel.
The V8 Supercar connection is that the elder Weel also owns Team Brock and his son Paul is one of the team’s regular drivers along with Jason Bright. Why does a Holden team owner build a hot Falcon road-car? Because the project was started last year when the Weels were still racing Fords.
They intend to expand their range into Holdens and also take on V8 tuning.
The cars are being developed primarily to promote PWR Performance Products, which builds a variety of racing and high performance parts and is the importer of Alcon brakes.
The DJR prototype lacked the bespoke bodykit the production car will get. But it was mounted on 19-inch wheels with Dunlop 245/35ZR19 fronts and 285/30ZR19 rears, sported a Herrod exhaust, was lowered and had a fundamentally standard interior with "djr" stitching in the leather seats.
The production car will have a more modified interior to match substantial exterior changes.
The PWR300’s go-fast gear includes a new engine management chip developed with Powertorque, a stainless steel 3.5-inch Walker exhaust with a titanium tip, a 90 per cent bigger intercooler, a 37mm high-performance radiator and carbon-fibre pipes and manifolds.
Mr Flint said he was philosophical about the emergence of increasing competition for FPV, which evolved out of the old Tickford Vehicle Engineering when Prodrive bought in.
"The pragmatist in me says that Ford has been in the wilderness for a long time and these guys – whoever they are – are only offering what the punter wants," said Mr Flint.
"And with BA and some of the products that is around now – most of it out of my operation – Ford is offering the sort of stuff that is seen to be pretty sexy by the marketplace.
"So you can hardly blame people for doing that. If the market wants hot cars, give them hot cars."