FPV ‘Orion’ Typhoon Rumours
October 8, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
It wouldn’t be a Monday if we didn’t have the latest rumours from our Ford insider. This week, our source has let loose details on the upcoming 2008 FPV Typhoon based on the all-new Falcon.
One thing is obvious, the new range of Falcon based FPV vehicles, set for release next year, will scare the hell out of HSV owners. Insiders say FPV Boss Rod Barrett is ready to go head to head with HSV in the horsepower war and win… win big.
Our source says the new Typhoon will be the fastest Ford production car in Australia yet! Rumoured testing at Winton, puts the ‘08 Typhoon a good 6 seconds ahead of the current model!
Power is expected at over 300kW which will put the new ‘Phoon at least 30kW ahead of the current model! The car will also utilise 6 pot Brembos.
(new FPV Falcon GT)
In other news, FPV is apparently powering all future built GTs (of the current shape) with the upgraded 302kW Boss engine that has been announced for the FPV GT Cobra.
The new Orion FPV GT is expected to hit a power output of 320kW.
Print it: 
6 seconds faster than the current typhoon around Wakefield? But the current Typhoon is roughly the same speed around Wakefield as a GTS (if my memory serves me correctly, from a recent review). Sounds to me like FPV is massively under-quoting power figures again, or this is just a crazy one off test mule.
Good thing Rod Barrett is going head to head in the power war – this just means Ford and Holden are going to be piling on the kilowatts massively over the next few years. At least until one of them is broke…..
Perhaps….
I dunno where FPV are going with their V8 but if HSV keep shopping for bigger engines in the USA, FPV can keep turning the wick up on the mighty ‘Phoon.
To settle this once and for all. The Boss engines are actually imported from Canada as the 3-valve V8 thats in Fairlanes & Fairmonts, then are taken to FPV where they are stripped down, have the heads from the Cobra-R mustang which was a 4.6 V8 bolted on along with some engineering from the FPV boys to make it what it is today. The “only” V8 engine manufactured & developed in Australia.
Holden’s idea of engineering is to buy a bigger engine. And b4 VE they didnt even have an original idea for their biggest selling car, they just adapted it from european made cars.
This orion phoon is going to be one of the fastest mass produced 4-doors in the world by the sounds of it because right now the phoon isn’t even 6 secs a lap slower than the Audi RS4 on any track let alone wakefield which is quite short and hasnt got many straights. The GT will probably be slower because of the great bit of cast iron block it has up the front but will still be a great machine
Any Holdenwoo f*** head like Frosty and Snags posts a bad comment just to taunt us all is a complete arsehole no matter what!!
Frosty + Snags,XXX
I don’t disagree at all Glen. Just for silly little bragging rights tho we can still say at least Ford BOSS is hand assembled here.
The trusty old I6 tho, is still developed and built proudly here in Oz. That’s part of the reason I’m after an Orion F6. It most likely will be gone come 2010, and I want one of the last ones.
I’m betting the ‘Phoon will, unfortunately for the BOSS, be quicker than the GT. But most likely quicker than GTS too :-)
6 seconds tho, that is a HUGE improvement, which makes me wonder….. Same driver? Same tyres? Same condition? We’ll have to see.
Hey Glen can you tell us how you back this up? I was under the impression the heads too are designed in Aus along with the manifold and cams that come from CROW!
There will be a power war and ford can make great power out of the I6 turbo. Holdenwoo are planing to put the Chevy LSIII V8 in the next HSV soon that is 320kw just like the FPV Boss next year.
maybe one day, the FPV F6 will be just like the New Nissan Skyline GT-R, no way Holdenwoo can catch up to that beast!!
For your info all……..
Fact……. John Bowe in the current R SPEC GT has done a run around the same track {not sure what track}with the older BF GT and was 3 sec faster in the R SPEC on the same day.
Oh and that other track that the Phoon and R8 went up against each other I think was Calder!
R8 1:09.90
F6 1:10.06
So guess what ,6 secs is going to be huge in the new Orion!!!!!
I do remember reading that about Bowe driving a GT 40th Anniversary R-Spec being 3 secs quicker. FPV have just released an F6 Typhoon with the same R-Spec handling package too.
BWAHAHAHA!!!! A new billion dollar blunder with extra 37Kw is only 0.16 quicker than 5 year old BF without R-Spec??? That is GOLD! What will Orion do? I’m drooling at the prospect.
Anit-Spam 300kw. hope there will be a special F6 that’s faster than the GTS-R ubbish and more than 300kw.
Holdenwoo do have a concept GTS-R ubbish getting around the contry aparently, because its the same body they can drive it without photos been taken of it.
7.0L my arse!! It only has 385kw and only pushrod, giant engines don’t mean better power Holdenwoo.
It’s official, TeamBOC is switching to the DARK SIDE. While I am disappointed to lose a Ford team, and wish Bradley and the team had a DECENT bathurst for once, it won’t be much of a loss.
As much as I hate to say it, BJR has been one of the bottom Ford teams for years, and I seriously doubt switching to Holden will improve their results.
Me., on another note, after researching a bit on what aftermarket tuners can achieve, I think the Typhoon can be tuned way beyond anything HSV could hope to achieve with a N/A V8. I suspect two things peg it back, warranty (something research can determine) and not wanting to overpower the GT.
While I wish GT was our all-powerful flagship, I think we could easily flog HSV (power AND fuel economy) will a seriously upgraded Typhoon.
watto dont be surprised if team BOC will be linked to say HSV/HRT and that would have been the carrot to get them over.
they did the same thing to get PWR on their side to.
Quote: “The SOHC 230 kW Barra engine and Boss 260 and 290 shortblocks, heads and crankshafts are built in Windsor, Ontario. The Boss engines include some locally sourced parts such as intake and pistons.” So as it says 3 valver: fully imported, 4 valver: shortblocks, heads and crankshafts imported, rest pretty much Aus.
BTW Durated 35 twin force, 3.5l direct injection twin turbo V6:321 kw is a likely successor to the I6 Turbo.
Perhaps, but I wouldn’t say it helped PWR a huge amount. They are reasonably competitive, but definately not a front running team.
Are you saying Wankingshaw will be a 6 car team now? lol, just joking.
ooops, that should read “definitely”. Had a few beers, a mate came for a visit and we started reminiscing Bathurst already :-) A few typos are ecpected (haha expected)
Heads are cast in the USA ! Components though? I thought the valves were from Germany ,aren’t the heads assembled here by FPV! Dont forget the 4 X Camshafts from Crow Cams here in Australia! That would be 1 x crankshaft ex USA too ! Hubby spoke to Crow Cams himself and got the low down on the engine when …well shall we say had some problems.
I think we can say Australia has done the fast stuff not the USA! Power comes from the top half not the bottom !
Hahahah,in the latest Top Gear Mag,Top Gear do a test on the F6 Tornado ……….why because Holden wouldn’t lend them one of theirs……….lol..I am off to buy the book! Meant to be a good story!
Ford Australia are really up-staging their parents, Ford Motor Company when it comes to turbo sixes.
Hey ,there is a link to the story on the Forum ,I will try and find it.
Ok have found the link
I have cut and pasted from Top Gear Mag
“Norm Maclean leans forward on his bar stool, rolls a cigarette and says: “We know we don’t usually travel at more than 130kmh, Clare, but who the hell are you to tell us that we can’t?”
It’s late, after 11pm, and if we aren’t in the middle of nowhere right now, then we must be close. The crickets outside are loud and constant, and the road is quiet. Norm is in charge here at Dunmarra Station, some 400 miles south of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
I am three quarters of the way through a 1,864 mile journey from Adelaide to Darwin, straight up the centre of Australia from south to north along the Stuart Highway, and this is the last overnight stop before the final day.
So, we’re starting in the middle, but this is a story that was always going to start in the middle. The middle is what it’s all about. The Northern Territory is the desert state, where the sand is as red as the evening sky, and the Milky Way shines so brightly at night it almost hurts your eyes.
Norm, a big-hearted, sharp-speaking, true-blue Ocker who traces his roots back to Stornaway, has lived in the Territory for many years – his ciggy now burning brightly, his eyes alive over a full goatee beard and a chin that could break bricks, MacLean warms to his theme:
“The people who live in the Territory are aware of the dangers. We drive to suit the conditions, so that means 130kmh is about as fast as we want to go, even in broad daylight. But turning us into criminals for going faster than that isn’t right. The opposition party has made the speed limit an election issue, saying they’ll abolish it again if they get into power, so it might be goodbye Clare.”
‘Our satnav read 34 hours, 36 mins and 3,024km to Darwin. Drives don’t get more epic than this’
‘Clare’ is the Right Honourable Clare Martin, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Government. It was her decision to slap a blanket speed limit of 110-130kmh on the Stuart Highway, the first out-of-town speed limit in the Territory’s 96-year history, and it’s a decision that hasn’t gone down well with Territorians.
It smacks of revenue-raising and do-gooder political idiocy, the need to be seen to be doing something, while more expensive and complicated issues – driver training, driver awareness, driver fatigue, vehicle roadworthiness – are buried.
The same sort of thinking has turned the rest of Australia into a police state, with robotic draconian cops targeted to write as many speeding tickets as they can. No concrete figures have been produced to prove the benefit of stricter speed limits in this country and it’s likely they never will be, and while the debate rages on websites like no-speedlimit.com, Norm’s take on it is clear enough.
“Territorians are easy-going people,” he says. “But force them into a corner and they’ll bite.”
The new Stuart Highway speed limit came into force on 1 January 2007 and it’s been big news in Australia. Big enough for Holden, the country’s arm of GM, to refuse to lend Top Gear a car for this journey. Holden, it would seem, saw it as ‘one last run’ for a couple of foreigners who would probably break the speed limit and crash.
Despite my assurances that it was nothing of the sort, and despite stressing that photographer Bramley and I are Australian and understand the issues, Holden wouldn’t budge.
So, the slightly more switched-on people at Ford stepped up to the plate with an FPV F6 Tornado, a four-litre straight six, turbocharged, 360bhp Falcon ute, tweaked and tuned by the boffins at Ford Performance Vehicles. Should get us there alright. Ripper, etcetera.
When we set off from Glenelg in Adelaide on the Southern Ocean coast, our satnav read 34 hours 36 minutes and 3,024km to run to Darwin. No worries. The aim was Coober Pedy by the end of this first day, Alice Springs by the end of day two, via Uluru, a day of shooting in Alice and a bit of a rest, Dunmarra the next night, then a plane out of Darwin the day after, once we’d gazed out over the Timor Sea. Drives don’t get more epic than this.
Look closely and you’ll notice a very thin aerial stuck to the top of the Tornado’s roof. This two-way radio is a key part of this story, and if you’re thinking of driving the Stuart Highway, you should spend a few quid on a basic radio like this.
It allows you to talk to Road Train drivers, and despite what you might think, these blokes want you to talk to them. Not because they’re lonely, but because any sort of mishap involving a car holds them up. They, more than anyone, want people to understand how to drive this road properly and not get into trouble.
“Copy southbound,” said Bramley into the handset once we’d cleared the Adelaide area and got into open country. A big Road Train had just blown past in the opposite direction, the blast from its passing knocking the car sideways. The trucker was straight back to us.
“G’day mate,” he said.
“Anything happening up north?”
“Nah mate, nothing, just a few head of stray cattle a couple of clicks north of Glendambo. You go over a ridge then down through a couple of corners and they’re near the second corner.”
We chatted to him while he stayed in range, and he was like every trucker we spoke to over the next few days: friendly, well-spoken, bright and helpful. Every piece of advice we received was useful, sightings of cattle were accurate and the truckers were mildly surprised to be speaking to someone in a car.
Travelling in Australia is all about vast distances, of course, but you soon get into a rhythm. Adelaide to Coober Pedy is 520 miles, so it’s London to Glasgow plus a hundred. Cooper Pedy is a beautiful old opal mining town with a classic Aussie main street. The outskirts are packed with clapped-out old mining rigs straight from Mad Max. Tough work, prospecting.
‘To watch Uluru at sunset on a clear evening is one
of the most moving experiences imaginable’
The first highway patrol copper we met was the only female one in South Australia. Constable Denise Case, a beautiful name for a police officer, pulled me over because she thought I had a radar detector, which are illegal in this state. No, I explained, I had braked from 145kmh to 110kmh because I’d seen her early and didn’t want her to lock her radar on. We ended up talking for half-an-hour, mostly about cars, and especially hers, a Commodore with a six-litre V8 engine.
These are due to be replaced soon with V6-engined cars, and she wasn’t happy about it. When we asked her to do a burnout for us in this, the last of the V8 interceptors, she said that she’d love to. But, er, it’d be more than her job’s worth. I’ve never seen a copper more keen to do something unlawful.
The South Australian leg of the trip passed without incident – though it’s an epic journey in itself, it isn’t until you reach the Northern Territory that you start to see the red dust and get a proper flavour of the Outback.
Best to let Mark Bramley’s photographs tell the story of this magnificent country – my piffling scribbles can’t hope to do them justice. The old indigenous bloke on the first page was on his way to a settlement about 500 miles away from Uluru.
We destroyed an alloy wheel doing the high speed dirt road shots with the helicopter, but boy, was it worth it. And then there was Uluru. Majestic Uluru, the red heart of Australia. We timed our arrival perfectly at sunset, and just stood and watched in awe as the sky darkened and the rock changed colour.
If the 24-hour flight is putting you off visiting Oz, get a grip, cobber. Buy some sleeping tablets, set a date – and be sure to visit this magical place. To stand and watch Uluru at sunset on a clear evening is one of the most moving experiences imaginable, particularly so for me, because, despite being an Aussie, I’d never seen it. Typical that the peace of the moment was wrecked by a couple of tourist helicopters, but that’s progress.
Uluru was called Ayers Rock until recently, named after a chubby South Australian politician with a bad beard. Now it’s part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and is run by the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara landowners, commonly known as the Anangu. They urge you not to climb it, though it’s not against the law.
“Climbing is not the real thing about this place. The real thing is listening to everything,” say the Anangu. In a scant hour here, I learned what the real Australia is all about. I will never call it Ayers Rock again.
That night, we slept in the open desert a hundred miles from Uluru and looked at the sky. No light pollution out here, of course, and when your eyes adjust, the stars are utterly jaw-dropping. It was a new moon, too, which made the Milky Way even more spectacular. A tip: look at the moon phases and make sure you get a darker sky.
As Bramley set up his six-hour exposure shot of the stars, I looked at the ute-shape silhouette of the F6. There’s something charming about the way cars wait to do your bidding. There it was, ready to go again, get us back to civilization. It is a fantastic car, like a big coupe, Aussie-style. Ford worldwide should fit this engine to more of its cars. The Tornado was smooth, quiet, quick, and never missed a beat, averaging 29mpg to boot.
And when the car rolled into Dunmarra Station at night, its headlights sprayed with a multi-coloured vomit of bugs that looked like an abstract work of art, Victorian plates on full display, Norm MacLean wasn’t impressed. He didn’t seem too impressed when he first saw us, and he told us later that he wasn’t impressed. But at least we were staying – he cooked us a couple of superb steaks, then we got talking and found out more about the real Stuart Highway and how to approach it.
‘I talked to one trucker who said he’d hit a roo that was big enough to make his truck shudder’
The thing is, he hates seeing people arrive at Dunmarra after nightfall, because he’s worried about the risks they face out on the road. The cattle are bad, but the roos are the biggest menace – there are literally millions of them, all migrating in the cooler night-time atmosphere. To give myself even a slight chance of missing any high-speed roo that might enter the picture from stage left or right, I didn’t dare travel at more than 40 to 50mph.
“Territorians very rarely drive after dark. If you see a car at night, nearly always it won’t have Territory plates on it. It’ll be New South Wales, Victorian or Queensland plates, out-of-state people who don’t know what they’re doing. The trucks are different – roos bounce off them.”
When he mentioned that, I remembered talking to one trucker who said he’d hit a roo that was big enough to make his truck shudder. A 50-metre long, 12-tonne vehicle actually shuddered. What that would have done to a normal car doesn’t bear thinking about.
“Two young couples stopped in here the other night, late, about 11pm,” says Norm. “They were in an old Toyota Tarago van. No bullbar, no spotlights. I asked them how much water they had on board, and they held up a couple of 500ml bottles. Incredible.”
Just as he finishes this sentence, a car pulls up to the petrol pumps – a Holden rental. We can see from inside the station that the plates are from NSW, and Norm gives me a knowing look before walking to the tills. It’s a family, two adults and two young children, travelling in the depths of night without a care in the world.
The bloke’s wearing shorts and sandals and he smacks at a mosquito on his leg as he fills the tank. Norm has a quiet word with him, trying to convince him to stay, but no, the fool carries on. We didn’t hear any word of a prang from the truckers the next morning, so by blind luck, they made it through unhurt.
Norm and I talk about the road for a while longer – about Falconio, the Overland Telegraph Line and The Ghan Railway, which shadows the Stuart Highway for most of its length. MacLean knows about the history of this place and tells a great story. Most of all, he hopes his message gets through: be safe. Sure, it’d be better without the speed limit, but even at 130kmh, the Stuart Highway is still the greatest road on earth. Treat it with care. ” end of story !
HOLY CRAP!!!
I need a bookmark because it will take me months to read all that.
yeah great story and i most of the good stories i get told do come from people who have either lived or well visited NT. (if “well visited” makes sence he he)
but i was hoping for a bit more of a story on the tornado
Yes, top story, I enjoyed it. But they barely mentioned the Tornado.
I don’t see TV guides and such. When is Top Gear back on SBS? When is the Aussie episode on? Is this story from the Oz episode?
The other half down loaded the {new series} UK episode last night,no havent seen it yet!
How ironic that he should suggest fitting the I6 to more ford vehicles word wide when we are scrapping it for the V6.
I predict the last of the turbo I6’s in Orion will be instant classics.
I Hope Ford are planing on a V6 turbo for the Huntsmen after the orion in 2010. The Motor mag says Ford are scapping the F6 because of no I6, Hope they wrong!!
I must have missed something. Who is suggesting ??
QOUTE “fitting the I6 to more ford vehicles world
wide when we are scrapping it for the V6.” ??
I have my heart set on an Orion F6 Typhoon now, I hope they become classics.
I haven’t seen the latest Motor mag.
QUOTE “The Motor mag says Ford are scrapping the
F6 because of no I6, Hope they wrong!!”
THAT WOULD BE F**KED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t vent too often but that crosses the line. Surely this is crap, heard heaps of other talk about the Duratec V6 being twin turbo.
Where is this news coming from all of a sudden??????
Hey Blue Blood I would agree with you there,there not meant to be stopping production till 2010 so of course there will be no more AFTER 2010 !
Me, there is talk of a bi-turbo V6 when the I6 is replaced. Wheels or Motor said it would go in the XR6T, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
me, search for the “ford twinforce” on wikipedia for more info.
Ford have to do what Daewoo are doing with alloy blocks. Now the daewoo fans will be blaming Ford for copying them, oh well sh!t happens!!
Some daewoo fan told me today that daewoo makes engines for Ford, what a dumb arse, I bet more of that sh!t for the Huntsmen Falcon in 2010!!
Sorry Watto Cobra.
I was refering to the Top Gear article posted by Bavarian Missile.
Quote:
“It is a fantastic car, like a big coupe, Aussie-style. Ford worldwide should fit this engine to more of its cars. The Tornado was smooth, quiet, quick, and never missed a beat, averaging 29mpg to boot.”
Thanks. Thought I’d completely missed something.
So the reviewer suggested more I6’s after experiencing the Tornado.
Is that what you mean Blue Blood?
will the orion only last for 2 years? or will the second series have a different motor?
the orion sounds like it will be a short lived model very unlike ford to turn a model so quick.
nah they cant lose the F6. they cant even change the name “Typhoon”. the phoon has made quite a mark as far as performance cars go in OZ especially if these rumours become true.
losing the name “typhoon” even if it becomes the twin force motor would leave ford the hard job of building up recognition of another name plate
There has been alot of Falcons that have only lasted 2 years, Just look at the XK Falcon, the Falcons though the 90s (etc)
I wonder will the Duratec Turbo inspire a turbo Mustang for the US?
Andrew I would think the Phoon will cease once the I6 stops in 2010! Yep I am sure they will make another fast V6 something
But it wouldn’t be the same to put the V6 turbo in after the I6 ,but hey look what BMW have just done with the M3 ?
Hey
I understand where your coming from with the name it certainly has some credibility out there in the world.
In regard to the Orion ,why ,what makes you think that! Did you get my email from Monday!
OH, if the Orion Falcon is going to the USA next year…
It would have a chrome grill, not that it will be like that here (it’ll look good for the Fairmont & Fairlane here), it’s just because all the American Fords are going that way.
Me,
yeah ford has had models run longer than 2 years but as of recent trends they seem to run for ever. i see that as fords only downfall in terms of sales.
AU ran for 5 years
BA/BF ran for 6 years
in certain months ford was beating the commy for sales with the BA. then holden refreshed their car to the VZ which gave them a spur along (even though they only chopped the fog light off the centre of the headlight)
but point is if people upgrade in the typical 3yr cycle if they bought fords they would buy the exact same model twice.
i reckon it would be great if ford turned over models a bit quicker cause it would give me a reason to upgrade more often too
ah yes missile i see your point too maybe the typhoon name should die with the I6 heart.
just to ensure the car as a whole remains together in the history books
I don’t think the Orion has to out sell the VE Dunnydore to be a success, it just needs to be just under to a good new car, anyway just because the VE out sells the Falcon now does not mean its a better car.
oh course it doesnt need to outsell the VE.
top of the charts in sales means nothing.
im just saying from a business point of view i think fords sales would increase quite a bit if they turned their models over a little quicker.
but in saying that if you do turn them over quicker you then MUST get a lot more sales out of it as you would also invest more money
There are infinite opportunities to chase more sales if they can speed up production. I would recommend they chase the taxi fleets again; this can be done delicately enough without downgrading the range; a really spartan $25k large car would be awesome! Give it a small diesel (boosted hard for max. accel.) so it can do the speed limits and nothing more; to score browny points with the government, while they release an immortal GTHO amidst the best Bathurst for Ford in decades.
If it all goes belly up, Ford could manufacture a range of Falcon sized utes and plead for protectionism to come back; not sell the Courier and devote all volume to Oz production. but thats a drastic measure if Ford goes back to the brink… Focus plan, V6 is a good start.
Thats right Mitchell about the Taxis, in Brisbane near where I live it was 100% Falcon taxis a few years ago, now it’s down to 50% maybe because they sick of the same looking car and also the high fuel prices.
When I went to Sydney earler this year, i was expecting the city to be full of Camry taxis, but no, the whole streets were like New York only Falcons insted of Crown-Victorias, so when you see photos of the Orion Falcon on
http://www.cgiautomotive.com/g.....Falcon.htm Think about what The Main citys of Australia will look like in a few years.
Think about how this car will affect the performance car series racing next year,will be real interesting if this does do a lap 6 sec faster.I know the new EVO is coming but it would have to be real good to beat this if the times are correct!!!!!!!!! Oh and the new M3 will be in it too.Will be a great series to see next year!
Thanks for that Alborz I know your busy!
Me, what do you mean by they might have been sick of the high fuel prices?
taxis all run on gas
Missile,
yes i was thinking about the performance car series too. if it is 6secs i guess they all will be running them.
ah but if it is 6secs quicker im sure others will complain like they did when John bowe ran a Mustang that blew them away (then they made him limit it)
LPG has gone up abit and a Falcons use more fuel than Camrys.
Andrew M, I said sick of the same looking car not fuel prices, but even thought the Crown Victoria has been the same for a long time, still being used as Police, Taxi and now disscontinued.
Me,
check what you wrote….
you said sick of the same looking car ##AND## high fuel prices.
yes i know LPG has gone up too but petrol has gone up a hell of a lot more.
also falcons dont use that much more than camrys and falcons are a bit cheaper to service/repair too