page_title: Ford Falcon (Australia)
section_title: XR
hierarchical_section_title: Ford Falcon (Australia) / Second generation (1966–1972) / XR
caption_attribution_description: English: Ford XR Falcon 500 Station Wagon (1966-1968). It is fitted with "Deluxe Wheel Covers" which were optional on the XR Falcon 500 and standard on the XR Fairmont.
context_page_description: The Ford Falcon is a full-sized car that was manufactured by Ford Australia from 1960 to 2016. From the XA series of 1972 onward, each Falcon and range of derivates have been designed, developed, and built in Australia, following the phasing out of the American-influenced Falcon of 1960 to 1971, which had been re-engineered locally as the XK to XY series for the harsher Australian conditions. The luxury-oriented Ford Fairmont model joined the range from 1965. Luxury long-wheelbase derivative versions called the Ford Fairlane and LTD arrived in 1967 and 1973, respectively.
  The Ford Falcon and its derivates have been Australian-made best-sellers, with over 3,000,000 sales in seven generations to 2003, almost exclusively in Australia and New Zealand, but also South Africa. Along with its closest Australian-made rival, the Holden Commodore, the Falcon has dominated the ranks of taxis in Australia and New Zealand, as well as police car and company fleets.
  In its last incarnation as the FG X series, the body style of the Falcon range consisted of sedan and utility body styles.
context_section_description: The next new model Falcon, the XR series, was introduced in September 1966. Styling was based on the third-generation 1966 US Ford Falcon and it was promoted as the "Mustang bred Falcon". It was the first Australian Falcon to be offered with a V8 engine, the 200 bhp (150 kW), 289 cubic inch (4.7 litre) Windsor unit. The XR marked the first time a V8 engine could be optioned in all trim levels of an Australian car, V8s having previously been reserved for the more up-market variants. The 144 in³ (2.4 L) six-cylinder engine was deleted for the XR series, leaving the 170 in³ (2.8 L) six as the base Falcon engine. A 200 in³ (3.3 L) six was also available.
  The XR series was initially offered in nine different models: Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont sedans, Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont wagons, Falcon and Falcon 500 utilities, and the Falcon Van. The new wagons shared the 111-inch (2,800 mm) wheelbase with the XR sedans, unlike the 1966 US Falcon wagons which featured a 115-inch (2,900 mm) wheelbase. The Falcon 500 replaced the Falcon Deluxe of the XP series and the two-door hardtop body style available in the XP series was not offered in the XR range. Ford New Zealand, which assembled the Falcon 500 at its Seaview, Lower Hutt, plant near Wellington, introduced a short-lived Falcon 600 model into the XR and subsequent XT ranges, with additional equipment such as a heater standard. The Fairmont and GT models were not locally assembled, but were imported from Australia in limited numbers.
  The Falcon XR won the Wheels Car of the Year Award in 1966, giving Ford Falcon two consecutive wins.
  The marketing focus on the Falcon's relationship with the Mustang's design appeal led to Ford introducing a Falcon GT variant of the XR in 1967, featuring a 225 bhp (168 kW) version of the 289 in³ (4.7 L) Windsor V8 engine, sourced from the Ford Mustang. The GT marked the beginning of the Australian muscle car. All of the original XR GTs were painted in the colour "GT gold", except for eight that were "Gallaher Silver" and another five that were "Russet Bronze", "Sultan Maroon", "Polar White", "Avis White" and "Ivy Green". The non-gold GTs, while having the same specifications, are the rarest of the early Australian muscle cars.
  Also specified on the first GT Falcon was a Hurst shifter for the four-speed gearbox, a deep-dish sports steering wheel, sports instrumentation, chrome full-cover wheel trims, and thick "GT stripes" along the lower panels between the front and rear wheels.
caption: XR Falcon 500 station wagon
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