Spy shot's / 08' Orion Falcon's face revealed....(Merged)

[FPRXR-6]

Pretty hard to tell in these pics but it looks good.



http://www.caradvice.com.au/2551/200...con-spy-shots/

[James63]

Looks like a VE...also looks like a hatchback from the 3rd shot????

[bentate]

Actually it looks like a VT with a car bra on it!

I'll hold back my comments until I see a clear set of pictures....

[Axeman444]

very Holden looking. did the photographer get his proving grounds mixed up?

[Razor]

Looks like a VXR Astra to me.

[FPRXR-6]

Here's more..
Most of the car has added panels to disguise the car's shape.
The 'Orion' will be one of the first cars in the world to have an 8 speed auto.

[JHamilton]

Doesn't look like they shortened up the rear overhang at all. This was my only bone to pick with the Falcon.

[johnh875]

They need to have a big boot though, it has to be over 500L to be competitive in the class. These are the best photos I've seen yet, but I'll still wait for better to make up my mind. It looks like they have raised the boot lid and reduced the amount of tumblehome on the side glass (ie slopes in less) which is a good thing. The windscreen pillar and side roofline profile looks to be pretty similar to the current model so perhaps the problem with the current model's roof being close to your head might improve slightly.

[bentate]

Much higher boot, Commodore style pull out door handles. Judging by the rear spoiler and big wheels the red one's obviously an XR model.

Ford had to use the existing BA/BF platform due to cost constraints so the rear suspension will remain largely unchanged and the front will be the Territory design.

Same engines and I doubt seriously if it will launch with an 8 speed auto.

Other key dimensions will remain similar to the current Falcon. Without significantly upgrading the Mondeo based 'control blade' IRS I doubt the performance models will put out much more power than the current range.

Ford were forced to do as much cosmetically to change the BF as they could given teh tight budget they had to work with. There's no all new platform like on VE or all new suspensions.

Hopefully what they do chnage will be enough to catch the VE. Although Ford are rumoured to have spent around $600 million on the new Orion, next to Holden's more than $1 Billion for the VE.

The Falcon wagon will be back along with the ute, both will simply have the new front grafted on to exisiting underpinnings.

[johnh875]

Bentate, the difference is the Falcon doesn't need to do wholesale changes to the suspension unlike the Commodore. The addition of the Territory front setup is significant though. Good to hear the wagon survives, I hope the Fairlane does too - while there has been some noise in the press about possible exports and LHD-engineered cars I don't believe that exist yet (to do a LHD version would cost money when there isn't a program for it), hopefully they have at least allowed for the possibility this time.

[mountainstar]

I've heard over here in the USA ford is considering using the developed platform to replace older rear wheel drive cars in production. Unlike the pontiac g8 deal the cars would be made over here.

[bentate]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Bentate, the difference is the Falcon doesn't need to do wholesale changes to the suspension unlike the Commodore. The addition of the Territory front setup is significant though. Good to hear the wagon survives, I hope the Fairlane does too - while there has been some noise in the press about possible exports and LHD-engineered cars I don't believe that exist yet (to do a LHD version would cost money when there isn't a program for it), hopefully they have at least allowed for the possibility this time.

The suspension limitations the Fal;con has is that the control blade design is a relativley light setup, as I said originally taken from the Mondeo and modified to suit rwd. This lighter design limits the amount of power that can be safely and reliably channeled through it so limits the ultimate power outputs of the high performance Falcons.

I'd gamble that you wont see a 300kw plus FPV version of the Orion.

The longwheelbase Falcon is dead, so there wont be any Fairlane or LTD. The wagon will receive minimal changes as will retain leafsprings at the rear, again to save money Ford will leave the underneath of the ute mostly alone.

The BA upgrade certainly moved the Falcon into the 21st century in terms of it's basic suspension design and it still handles and rides well. But the problem I see with retaining a similar design is that it limits the platform's ability to be able to cope with mechanical change over the six or seven year life of the Orion. Can it accept awd as the Commdore can? Can it deal with future electronic stability and braking enhancements?

The suspension in the Falcon will be getting very tired come 2013 when it nears it's final year, I just hope for Ford's sake that there's enough left in it and the whole BA platform to keep the Falcon range competitive into the next decade.

This well may be the last local Falcon we see designed and built here....

[bentate]

Ford seem to be deliberately allowing 'spy shots' of the 08' falcon to be taken with these latest shots of the car reportedly taken from a fence line at YouYangs. There's plenty of development roads and space well away from fence lines and teh prying eye of spy photographers, but Ford appear to be drip feeding fans with these tease shots.

As for the car, well it's abviously a traditional front end and doesn't appear to sport the large wheel flares that divided opinion on the VE.

Still too hard to make a call on ther overall design, but if Ford follow their ussual procedure, expect more revealing 'spy' shots to slowly appear over the coming weeks.