FORD XM-XP HARDTOP
FORD'S 'BRAVE' DECISION TO OFFER A TWO-DOOR HARDTOP WAS PRAISED BY ENTHUSIASTS WHO THEN LAMENTED ITS EARLY DEMISE
Ford never explained why it spent money adapting the US Falcon two-door to suit Australia, all the while knowing its ‘sporty’ Hardtop would be slower than the sedan.
The American version came with an optional V8 engine but Ford wasn’t going to get away with that in the ultraconservative Aussie car market. Undaunted it went ahead anyway and announced a Hardtop to lead the XM range.
Most of the extra weight was devoted to body strengthening, ensuring the pillarless cars went most of the way towards matching their sedan counterparts in body rigidity.
The big attraction of the Hardtop was windows that would wind down to door level, allowing unimpeded over-the-shoulder vision for drivers and plenty of fresh air.
Deluxe two-doors offered very basic equipment, with even the heater/demister costing extra. Dash padding, which was standard in the Futura, could be added to the Deluxe for £7 and seat belts were optional as well. Metallic and two-tone paint combinations were available across the range.
The flashy Futura was most easily distinguished by its ‘turbine’ hub-caps and whitewall tyres. Extra body adornment, carpets and padded door trims helped justify its place as the most expensive Falcon derivative and these were indisputably a classy looking car,
Automatic transmission was optional with the 170 cubic-inch engine but mandatory if the Super Pursuit 200 was specified.
A few ‘Sprint’ XM Hardtops with 4.2-litre V8s were built by Bill Warner’s tuning shop in Sydney and sold semi-officially but that was the closest Ford came to offering a locally-made XM-XP V8.
Performance from a manual Deluxe with the 83kW engine
will be slightly better than can be expected from either of the automatics. Tests found the manual Deluxe would manage 18.8 seconds for the 0-400 metre sprint while an auto took 20.0. Top speed of the bigger-engined automatic was 152km/h, against 145km/h for the 170 manual.
Two-door cars featured prominently in Ford’s astonishing 70,000 mile ‘Durability Run’. This perilous PR exercise, conducted shortly after the XP’s release, saw five new Falcons including two Hardtops belted (literally) around Ford’s You Yangs proving ground for 8 ½ days to forever banish doubts about the cars’ reliability.
People buying XM-XP Hardtops in today’s market will be confronted with a difficult decision – do you buy an original car or tip slightly more money into one that has been converted to V8 power? Both have strong enthusiast following and equal chances of long-term survival. The V8 needs to have been properly engineered but with disc brakes and the right suspension they deliver an enjoyable ride.