The XR8
Ute runs a Boss 290 V8, with the 290 standing for the kW produced (389-hp). It's hand-assembled
by Ford Performance Vehicles in Melbourne, using Cobra R cast aluminum
heads, forged steel crankshafts, high lift inlet camshafts and a 75-mm
throttle body with drive-by-wire linkage. Peak torque is 384 lb-ft
and comes in at 4,750-rpm.
Both the
Boss V8 and turbo six engines are available with either a six-speed
manual or ZF six-speed automatic, which is also used by Bentley, BMW
and Maserati.
Ford Performance
Vehicles (FPV) will release even more potent versions of the FG Ute
around the middle of the year. FPV won't discuss power outputs, but
they are tipped to rise to around 428-hp for a V8 version and about
389-hp for the turbo.
Ford has
announced the FPV models will come standard with electronic stability
control, but the potentially life saving feature won't be available
for the rest of the Ford Ute models at launch because Bosch is still
calibrating the systems.
It
is not yet clear whether electronic stability control (ESC) will be standard
across the range, as it is with the VE Ute. Bosch is in the final stages
of developing it and it should be added soon after the launch. The
FPV (higher-performance versions) utes will have ESC as standard when
they launch in a few months.
Driver and
passenger front airbags are standard, but just like the VE, no side
airbags are available. Head-protecting
side airbags will be optional for all FG Falcon Utes.
The FG Falcon
Ute sits on a longer wheelbase than its sedan sibling, which allows
for a good tray length of between 72.5-inches (flat load tray) and
87-inches (styleside) and also helps with towing stability.
Its leaf-springs might be a blast from the past, but the front suspension
is a new double wishbone design with two lower ball-joints. It's the
same setup found on the Australian Territory SUV, which has set new
standards for handling in its class.
Wheels for
the entry level Ute, simply called Falcon Ute, are 16-inches and made
of steel, while the rest are alloys, ranging in size from 17-inch to
optional 19s.
The FG Ute
also has an all-new interior which features a new 7-inch information
display in the centre of the dashboard.
