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Posted (edited)

[The following is almost all true but as far as I know Lotus never built a Falcon. The model is an April Fools Phantom.]This is a model of the one and only Lotus-Falcon that was a prototype for a stillborn effort by Ford to homologate Falcons for international rally competition. It is an often forgotten and unappreciated fact that Falcons spearheaded Fords assault to dominate international car racing when Falcons were entered in the Monte Carlo Rally. It started in 1963 with the first generation Falcon, which showed great potential. In 1964 there was an all out attempt by Ford for an outright victory. As it turned out a controversial rule interpretation gave the victory that proved legendary to Paddy Hopkirk in a Mini Cooper S. Although a Falcon won all the stages it was relegated to second place. Falcons were entered in subsequent European rallies but it became obvious the powers that be were not happy with the performance of this North American interloper and declared the Falcons as entered did not meet homologation regulations. The Falcon Sprint version was not that different from a stock Falcon. In an effort to correct this Ford enlisted the help of their Indy 500 partner Lotus to come up with a Falcon version that could be produced to meet the homologation requirements. Lotus had already developed a performance version of the Ford Cortina so had a recipe to follow. The rally versions of the Falcon were prepared by Holman & Moody who interestingly enough also built 427 powered Econoline support vehicles for the team. This Lotus-Falcon was basically a rally car de-tuned and civilized as a road car.
Unfortunately time marched on. Ford decided to end its effort to win the world rally championship so the Falcon homologation project was not pursued. Ford had other international championships to conquer like Le Mans, F-1 and sports car racing. Besides the Mustang had taken over as Fords sporty car.
DSCN0847-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki
DSCN0846-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki
DSCN0856-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki
DSCN0851-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki
more photos at http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/models_of_sports_cars/1964-falcon-lotus/
Modifications and additions to stock Trumpeter Falcon
INTERIOR
- Wood rim steering wheel
- Hurst shifter with wooden shift knob
- Sportier front bucket seats
- Enhanced instrumentation
ENGINE COMPARTMENT
- Dual four-barrel carbs
- Chrome valve covers
- Monte Carlo bar
RUNNING GEAR
- Lowered suspension
- Wider wheels and with Goodyear Bluestreak Sportscar Special tires
- Disc brakes up front, larger drums in the rear
BODY
- Trim removed
- Lotus badgeing
- Talbot rear-view mirror
- Quick opening gas cap
- Wimbledon White with green side coves [Model Masters Custom Lacquer System Wimbledon White, Tamiya Olive Green Flat Acrylic & Acrylic Clear Top Coat]

Edited by Phildaupho
Posted

Awesome build! Thanks for this great info, I'll search more about it, 'couse living in europe I want to know more about this tipe of builds!

Posted

Very nice build Phil and some great history. I would disagree that Ford abandoned it's effort to win the World Rally Championship. They did however choose a new weapon, the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts. The nearly won the Championship in '78, just barley losing out to Fiat and finally broke through in '79. But that's another story. Thanks for sharing you build with us.

Posted (edited)

Very nice build Phil and some great history. I would disagree that Ford abandoned it's effort to win the World Rally Championship. They did however choose a new weapon, the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts. The nearly won the Championship in '78, just barley losing out to Fiat and finally broke through in '79. But that's another story. Thanks for sharing you build with us.

Right you are AFX. I should have said "with a North American built car". Ford of Great Britain and Ford of Germany continued to build and enter cars for the WRC especially from the early 1970s on. An interesting car I just found out about is the 1970 Ford GT70 mid-engine rally car of which only 6 were built

Edited by Phildaupho
Posted

Right you are AFX. I should have said "with a North American built car". Ford of Great Britain and Ford of Germany continued to build and enter cars for the WRC especially from the early 1970s on. An interesting car I just found out about is the 1970 Ford GT70 mid-engine rally car of which only 6 were built.

Another Ford exotic you might be interested in is the RS200. Reji makes a resin kit of this car but the kit is not cheap. Not sure if a GT70 kit is available.

Posted

I know the Monte Carlo rally story is true and even though I had never heard of such a project I took you at your word about the Lotus Falcon. Being somewhat knowledgeable about Fords I should have trusted my instincts. But I'll admit you got me.

Posted

Thats a sharp looking color combonation, I love it! And the pinstripes really set it off.

Posted

Thanks everyone for your comments. It was a fun project and I even enjoyed the Trumpeter kit inspite of its inaccuracies. I had a nice 65 Falcon 289 4-speed hardtop with front disc brakes and good suspensions a few years ago and I always imaged doing it up similar to this model.

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