Back then it looked vast, a Yankee aircraft carrier of a machine beside a Cortina or even a Jaguar Mk2. Now, alongside a mid-sized European saloon with its bulging safety zones, high bonnet-line and projecting nasal crumple-zone, it looks quite neat and compact. The racy C-pillar, slim window supports and low roof mark the Ford Falcon Sprint as coming from several generations past. But turn the key and duck, as 400 horses fight to be let loose.<\/p>\n
It was the brawny V8 engine that made these things a surprise success in saloon car racing. As long as you looked after the brakes, the big Ford could topple the Jaguar from its regular podium, and with Alan Mann\u2019s preparation behind him, Bo Ljungfeldt came close to a supremely unlikely victory on the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. <\/p>\n
This example, in stock with RMD in Belgium, could give you the same ear-splitting feeling of broadside power.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known it for a while,\u201d says Marc Devis. \u201cIt\u2019s been raced by a Dutch friend of mine and he\u2019s only selling it to move into another category. It\u2019s prepared by Milestone, who are specialists in Shelby Mustangs and Cobras etc. It\u2019s a genuine 1964 Sprint, but was converted to a racer three or four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford homologated many lightweight parts for the Falcon such as GRP wings, and this FIA-spec car employs them too, making it lighter than its Mustang rival. Its 289 engine boasts all the right bits \u2013 forged crank, special con rods and Holley double-pumper carb \u2013 which adds up to 408bhp and a mighty 361lb ft of torque, feeding through a close-ratio syncro T10 gearbox. Massive brakes and Koni shocks keep it planted, and it comes with a quick-ratio steering box for those surprise oversteer moments. And as well as race pipes it comes with a road exhaust.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fully legal both for pre-66 racing and road use,\u201d says Marc. \u201cYou could use it for rallies and tours as well as racing. It\u2019s going beautifully and it\u2019s not a handful \u2013 though on race tyres you do end up looking through the side windows a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n
Complete with current FIA HTP papers, a Falcon Sprint like this is eligible for several series around Europe. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely ready to go,\u201d says Marc. \u201cNo need to spend another \u20ac20,000 before you hit the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Factfile<\/b><\/p>\n
Year<\/strong> 1964<\/p>\n Engine <\/strong>V8, 4.7 litres, 408bhp<\/p>\n Transmission <\/strong>four-speed manual<\/p>\n Suspension <\/strong>front: wishbones and coils; rear: leaf spring axle. Koni shocks <\/p>\n Top speed <\/strong>107mph<\/p>\n Price<\/strong> \u20ac97,500<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[167],"issue_decade":[121600],"issue_year":[121675],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/53570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/53570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224251,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/53570\/revisions\/224251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53570"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=53570"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=53570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}