Ford Australia Reveals Ford Falcon XR8 ute

Press Release

New XR8 One-Off Version Makes Purr-Fect Sense

Ford fans will be salivating at the news that this vehicle is one-of-a-kind, lovingly hand-built from the wheel trims to the bonnet power bulge at Ford's Geelong Manufacturing Operations.

But before customers rush to place their orders, there is a catch.

There will only be one of these ever built and this one has already been delivered custom-made to a cat!

The project is part of commemorations to mark the 80th year of sponsorship between Ford Australia and the Geelong Football club, better known as 'The Cats'.

Ford and GFC are hosting a number of events during 2005 to mark their special association, which is believed to be the longest continuous sporting sponsorship in the world.

In this year of celebration, Ford believed it was important the GFC mascot, Half Cat, had a fitting mode of transport to use for the footy's pre-game entertainment.

But first there was the dilemma of how to meet the vehicle needs of such a fussy customer.

The ample-bodied Half Cat needed something easy to get in and out of, somewhere he could store his crowd giveaways such as footballs, and something that wouldn't tear up the grass.

An XR8 seemed the best option but there was still the problem of size and power. Surely the cheeky Half Cat could not be trusted with a 260kW powered XR8 in the middle of a football field!

Ford engineers came up with the idea to shrink the overall vehicle package and fit it all on a power-deprived golf buggy, making it much more manageable for Half Cat.

The finished vehicle has all the XR8 signature pieces -- bonnet power bulge, sculptured sides, unique wheel trims, chrome sports bar, and 'Shockwave' blue paintwork -- but looks like a cartoon version of the real thing.

But while the XR8 buggy may look like fun, it created a huge challenge for Ford's Tool Room technicians who painstakingly hand-made all of the one-off parts built for the car. Up to 30 people worked on the project over six weeks, fitting it in around their regular work.

"To build the car, we effectively used the same processes as we would for our real prototype vehicles," explained Geelong Stamping Plant Manager, Ben Rumble.

Using computer-aided design, parts of the original XR8 were re-modelled to fit the scale of a golf buggy and then tested for function and durability.

Next die tools cut one-off polystyrene moulds and then layer upon layer of fibreglass built up to create the unique parts. Metal brackets to fit the parts together were also cut and machined by hand.

"The employees have really enjoyed the challenge and novelty of the job," Mr Rumble said. "It has been great to contribute to the enduring association between the football club and Ford.

"At Ford we are also celebrating 80 years of operation in Australia. Ford Australia's operations began in 1925 in Geelong, the same year we began sponsorship of GFC, so it is fitting that this project should come home to Geelong employees."