FORDS YOU CAN'T HAVE

Although automotive history will undoubtedly be very kind to the rare and exotic Ford GT and the dealer-greed-fest also known as Shelby GT500-- if not dew-eyed with nostalgia over the supercar pair--the balance of the tepid Ford/Lincoln/Mercury line-up is probably as forgettable as anything in the "dark ages" of the 1970s.

And just as when FoMoCo banished factory motorsports overseas after the premature death of the "Total Performance" era in 1970, most of the really interesting Ford Motor Company (tm) products, activities, and "bold moves" occur outside of the U.S.A. and beyond the weak-kneed conservatism of Dearborn micromanagement.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=116590 provides just such an example.

"The DRIF6 uses a 4.0-liter six that twists out massive 509 hp and 516 pound-feet of torque. At least after some tuning.

[Ford Performance Vehicles] started with what is arguably Australia's finest performance car, the Typhoon F6. FPV turns Ford Falcons into Typhoons the same way as AMG fettles Mercedes-Benzes or M massages BMWs. Except with fewer zeros on the bill. In stock trim, the Typhoon F6 uses an Australian-designed inline-6 with twin-overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, variable-length intake manifold and cam timing, and a Garrett turbocharger with intercooler running an unstressed 9 psi. FPV claims 362 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque for the F6, but rumors from within Ford during initial testing suggested there was a lot more than just 360 hp hiding in the turbo six. With a mild boost increase, larger intercooler, ECU tuning, and mild intake and exhaust systems changes, the power and torque figures both jumped beyond 500."

Of course all of this power is housed not in some FWD Mazda or Volvo castoff, but in a bona fide RWD sport sedan.

"Sorry Americans. None for you. But we can offer you zero percent financing on a new Tempo . . . uh . . . I mean Fusion . . . ."