The last ever Ford Falcon has been teased a year ahead of its arrival in local showrooms.
Ford Australia revealed little of the new car’s shape – showing only parts of the vehicle including a muscular-looking front end, a stylish set of alloy wheels and exhaust pipes shrouded in an angular housing.
Ford Australia previewed the 2014 Ford Falcon ironically at an event designed to showcase the brand’s future models in Australia beyond 2016.
Ford offered few details on the car, but reiterated previous points that it will benefit from fuel economy improvements.
These improvements will come from areas such as enhanced aerodynamics, low-rolling-resistance tyres, and a lighter, “new high-tech” six-speed automatic gearbox.
Ford says the auto will bring adaptive gearshifts and quicker acceleration.
It’s the second time Ford has teased the new-look Falcon, following an even briefer video graphic shown at the 2012 Sydney motor show.
The 2014 update will be the last for the large car that will cease to be produced in Australia from October 2016, ending a nameplate that has lasted more than 50 years. It means the Ford Falcon launched next year will have only a two-year lifecycle.
Ford used the same event to announce new models for the future, which include the next-generation Ford Mustang from 2015.
Ford Falcon sales continue to struggle, and the model posted its worst sales figures ever – less than 600 – in July 2013.
At the Ford Go Further event, Ford boss Alan Mulally didn’t offer a guarantee that the Falcon will not stop production before October 2016.
“That’s the plan,” Mulally said, when asked if Falcon production would continue to October 2016. “We will always take into account the changing [market] environment.”
