Series II XR6T

[cdm]

Does anyone know anything about the Series II XR6T? All sorts of rumours going round. When will it be released? Apparently not till late next year so they don't burn owners of series 1 as bad as they did with AU. Will there be a weight decrease? If so how much? And how will they do it? Will they ditch the T5 in favour of the mustang box in the XR8? Will there be a power increase? I think so, possible only 5 or 10kw for marketing purposes. Then probably the standard stuff like different wheels, maybe a different colour and some extra feature, sunglasses holder in roof like AU3? I noticed the GT at the motorshow had it. What do guys reckon, or know?

[BrentS]

Interesting question CDM. I'm yet to take the plunge an order an XR6T, but if a Series II was only a few months away I'd tend to wait for it. However, with the current one selling so fast, Ford is probably more interested in getting some of its $500m development cost back rather than worrying about a Series II for the minute! I agree that any power increase would be minimal, especially as this would eat into XR8 sales even more than is the case now. As you said, new wheels and a few pinstripes would be about it externally. Mechanically they'll just replace or modify all those little fiddly washers, bolts, clips etc which have given trouble in the Series I.

As for a weight reduction, I mentioned in a previous thread that any serious weight reduction (I.e. more than say 75kg) would most likely require some serious re-engineering of the chassis, especially if torsional rigidity is to be maintained. That's expensive stuff, so although I hear lots of people carrying on about it, I'd think its a bloody good question from an engineering point of view. I really hope that the Series II isn't going to be the victim of "cheap" weight redcutions (I.e. more use of plastics as opposed to metal; reduced sound deadening material; lighter under-bonnet components etc). At the end of the day, we have to remember that the Falcon is a big, 5-seater, 4-door sedan that has to be built to withstand outback corrugated roads as much as city streets, and if you want the car to be refined as well as strong, then weight is an inevitable by-product. Unfortunately for us performance fans, the extra kilos take a slight edge off what is already a rapid car. Then again, I'd rather a few extra kilos than a rattly bodyshell any day.

[daninme]

well I have heard that there will be a weight reduction the engine will be dual vct and a boost of power.

[richdave]

the engine will be dual vct and a boost of power.

why would Ford mod the engine spec beyond a tweak of the ecu program so early in the line up....

[Guest KiwiXR6T]

I agree with Richdave. The existting engine has SOOO much capasity to increase output by simply updating the ECU settings, that Ford won't need to do much more. The weight reduction will simply be for Fuel consumption stats, as they took a wee bit of flack from Expensive Daewoo about the stats at the launch (its all they could come up with!).

Series 2 will be slightly lighter (50-80kg) and be around 245-250kw. They simply don't need to do any more than that. It'll kick off the selling again.

[cdm]

How do you think they will get this weight off? It can't be anything too dramatic as they just spent a fortune on developing the BA.

[Superoo]

Anyone heard anything or know when the BA will have crash testing results posted?

Depending on the outcome, the weight issue may take on a different light.

The increased girth didn't just happen by accident. Maybe we just haven't seen the real reason behind it yet.

If it's a result of increased safety, the diet it undergoes for series II may be only slight. I'd suspect that 50-80kgs without any major component change may be a huge ask.

[Guest esky]

I would think there would be major issues with the turbo getting more power. Currently it is line ball with the GT and XR8 in terms of performance.

Apparently Aussies love their V8s, if you believe the marketing. I guess Ford see it if the 6T carves up the top self 8’s, that would turn off more Ford fans than that would attract.

The only thing I’ve heard around the traps is the BA has gone to weight watches.

[Guest DZ.]

The use of lighter and stiffer materials such as aluminium would reduce the weight without affecting the crash integrity of the car however it then becomes a question of cost. If Ford are focussing on that there's certainly not going to need to be an increase in power output for the Turbo. It's selling well enough on it's own anyway, irrespective of the marketing. I don't think demand is going to drop when the Series II models are introduced.

[Mondie]

In talking with Wally from Westpoint he has said there are rumours that the series ll could be released around the end of this year. Only rumours, but l would be annoyed if they came true. After being burnt with the TS50 on resale, l hope they let the BA run for a while before an update.

l think losing 50-80 kgs is a huge ask, especially without spending huge $$ on aluminium bits and re-engineering etc.