Ford Performance Vehicles will be officially axed with the introduction of a new Falcon late in 2014. The local manufacturer, facing an end to car building in Australia from 2016, announced today that there would be no new FPV-branded models after the introduction of a final Falcon range late next year. The performance arm was previously brought in-house by Ford, after the company acquired Prodrive's share of the high-performance vehicle operation back in August. It has since been rumoured that Ford would market its high-performance sports-oriented sedans under the Ford brand, ending FPV as a subordinate brand. There is some good news for performance Falcon fans though, with Ford also announcing the return of the V8-engined XR8. According to the same press release that declared an end to the FPV experiment, Ford will revive the XR8 variant in the new Falcon range, due for launch late next year. An update for the Territory SUV is expected to arrive at the same time. The engine under the bonnet of the XR8 will remain the Miami V8, but the XR8 variant will be priced at a level more "accessible" for V8 Falcon fans. “We have received a lot of interest and continued requests from Falcon fans to bring back the XR8,” said Graeme Whickman, Ford Australia Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service. “Re-introducing the XR8 sedan, packaged in our updated Falcon, will make our renowned locally-engineered and manufactured V8 engine available to a broader group of people,” Whickman was quoted saying in the press release. In FPV's last 12 months, Ford plans to mark the occasion of its passing with final FPV models, but the company is releasing no further details at this time. “FPV has been very successful for the last 12 years and our relationship with Tickford for many years before that,” said Whickman.“We appreciate all of the great team members, dealers, customers and fans who have supported FPV through its history. We look forward to sharing further details of the final FPV models and the new XR8 over the coming months.”
