FALCON XE ESP MARKET

FORD AUSTRALIA decided in 1982 that the era of the V8 engine was ending. That piece of flawed thinking saw it abandon a significant slice of the private vehicle market, plus police and other fleet users for whom a comfortable car with a big engine was important. Before handing the V8 market to Holden, Ford did leave for posterity a final version of its European Sports Pack (ESP) Falcon which would grow into a very significant collectible. The ESP had emerged in 1980, based on the basic Falcon GL and with 4.1 or 5.8-litre engines. XD versions sold in small numbers and didn’t attract much interest until XEs began to soar. XE versions were available with the basic six-cylinder engine but the majority and the ones that today are worth the most had 4.9 or 5.8-litre V8s. By the time XE versions arrived on showroom floors, supplies of the larger engine were growing thin and only 178 5.8-litre cars were eventually built. All were supposed to be four-speed manuals but 260 of the 4.9-litre automatic were built and up to 100 more of the 4.9-litre four-speed. These cars can cost 50 per cent more than an automatic in similar condition, while prices for ESP 5.8s threaten to regularly exceed six figures. Sixcylinder cars, although scarce rarely exceed $30,000. ESPs destined to grow in value must retain their unique equipment and trim. That means colourkeyed Scheel seats and the correct ‘Snowflake’ gold alloy wheels.