Ford FPV F6 Tornado

[NarendZORCE]

Ford Performance Vehicles has this week commenced production of its latest high-performance machine - the turbo-charged F6 Tornado ute. The F6 Tornado is powered by the awesome F6 270 Turbo engine with 270 kW of power and 550 Nm of torque - the highest torque output of any Australian production engine.

It will open the door to a new wave of high-performance customers as the entry ticket into the FPV range, available exclusively with the new close-ratio Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission, with a recommended retail price of AU$51,950 excluding dealer delivery and statutory charges.

The F6 Tornado is easily identified as a sibling to the F6 Typhoon sedan as it carries the same exterior design cues, including exclusive gun metal highlights in the sports front bumper, high-tech chrome grille mesh, F6 badge in the upper air intake, sports side skirts and aggressive 18-inch double five-spoke alloy wheels with shadow black rims.

While the spacious Supercab is only made for two, the driver and passenger do not miss out on any of the luxury items featured in the F6 Typhoon. The F6 Tornado has sports seats with suede-like bolsters, exclusive Technik fabric trim, silver stitching and FPV logos embroidered in the head rests. The dash features the exclusive FPV instrument panel, starter button and individually-numbered build plaque, while the audio system consists of a 100W six-disc CD player with six speakers. Dual stage front airbags, air conditioning and power windows are also standard features.

Like the F6 Typhoon, the F6 Tornado has the new twin pod sports instrument gauges mounted on the top of the Interior Command Centre, displaying oil pressure and turbo boost pressure.

Under the bonnet, the F6 270 Turbo delivers 270 kW of power at 5250 rpm and its peak torque of 550 Nm is delivered at just 2000 rpm and remains constant through to 4250 rpm. The F6 270 Turbo is based on the award-winning turbo charged and intercooled 4.0-litre in-line six cylinder engine from the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo. The increase in power and torque is a result of a number of exclusive modifications, including a larger twelve-core front-mounted silver intercooler, dual-entry ram airbox, oil cooler and unique engine management calibration.

Linking the F6 Turbo 270 to the rear wheels is the new FPV-developed version of the Tremec T56 close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission with a 240 mm twin-plate clutch from AP Racing in the United Kingdom. The clutch has been extensively re-engineered due to the necessity to fit a number of revised parts to maximise long-term durability and reliability. The gearbox features exclusive ratios, tailored to the specific characteristics of the engine and with overdrive ratios that are useable within Australian highway speed limits.

To ensure the gearbox was comfortable to use in everyday driving conditions without compromising the performance nature of the F6 Tornado, FPV has included a host of features to enhance the quality of the shift mechanism, including double synchromesh on all forward gears, linear bearings on the shift rail and a direct linkage shifter.

The gearbox has a single synchromesh on reverse gear as well as an electronic lock out to prevent reverse from being selected at above 5 km/h. FPV engineers have also incorporated an audible shift alert function to optimise acceleration by alerting the driver that the engine is approaching the electronic rev limiter.

The F6 Tornado has a limited slip rear differential with a 3.73:1 final drive ratio, while the handling is taken care of by an FPV-tuned double-wishbone front suspension, sports rear end and 245/40 ZR 18 Dunlop SP9000 tyres.

The F6 Tornado comes equipped with a high-performance braking package that consists of twin-grooved 325 mm ventilated front discs and 303 mm solid rear discs with twin-pot front calipers and single-pot rear calipers. The outstanding Brembo package, which includes cross-drilled and ventilated 355 mm front rotors and 330 mm rear rotors with four-pot calipers on all corners, is available as an option for a recommended retail price of AU$5950.00. Both packages also have a three-channel anti-skid braking system.

The F6 Tornado has a soft tonneau cover with the FPV logo as standard equipment while an alloy sports bar or lockable hard tonneau cover are available as options.