Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor
Ford Australia has said all along they never had the manufacturing capacity here to build for the American (LHD) market - they made no secret of that
However whey the Barra was never picked up overseas is strange
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The greater mystery is why was Ford Australia tarting up a 60 year old inline six (with great expense converting it to finally DOHC, before that SOHC, before that crossflow and so on over the years), instead of using the corporate Ford Duratec V6!
Engine enthusiasts love their indestructible cast iron inline sixes, but the advantages of an alloy block V6 are undeniable. It is lighter, it sits much further back in the engine bay... It just makes for a much better handling motor car.
Fred Gibson was very disappointed in Nissan for sticking with an inline six for the R32 GTR. He expected a twin turbo V6 for a car released in 1989, and was surprised when the GTR was revealed with an inline engine. Gibson says the length of the RB26 created numerous handling difficulties.
So an inline six was already old fashioned in 1989, and Ford Australia were still using one in 2017!