One-of-25 Ford Falcon Ute Tickford for sale
Thought Tickford specials were just for Capris? Think again
History is full of fierce motoring rivalries. Subaru vs Mitsubishi in the world rally championship, Camaro vs Mustang among pony cars, and Audi vs BMW vs Mercedes for outright Q-car supremacy. And then there’s Ford vs Ferrari, a feud of such intensity that they made a big Hollywood movie on it - a decent one at that, too. But there’s arguably no rivalry more ferocious, or none more intensely fought than that of Ford vs Holden. Well, in Australia anyway.
The conflict began back in 1962, when Ford and Holden locked horns at the Bathurst 500 (now a gruelling 1000 kilometres) with race-prepped versions of their respective best-selling family saloons. Ford would emerge victorious in the first battle with its Falcon XL, but it sparked a war that would rage on right up until 2023, when General Motors axed Holden and replaced it with Chevrolet, breaking the hearts of Commodore supporters across the country. That may have brought an end to a brilliantly bitter rivalry, yet its legacy lives on with millions of Falcons and Commodores lining the streets from one of motorsport’s greatest ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ eras.
Naturally, there were a bunch of V8 specials that came out of the battle, and because Aussies love nothing more than a ute with silly amounts of power, many could be had with two doors and a loading bed out back. Much like this Falcon XR8 Ute Tickford Edition, released in 1999 as one of the baddest V8 trucks money could buy. Power comes from Ford’s legendary 5.0-litre Windsor V8, which in standard XR8 guise develops around 235hp. It doesn’t appear that Tickford Vehicle Engineering, Ford Australia’s old motorsport outfit, mucked about with the engine in this one, but for a truck that can trace its roots back to the '70s, it should still feel pretty naffing quick.
However, where Tickford did work its magic is on the bodywork. This Falcon XR8 sports a bespoke kit that was only available on the Tickford Edition, featuring deeper skirts and sportier bumpers. The major change, though, is the aggressive body-coloured shroud around the headlights, similar to the look the Tickford Falcons were sporting in that year’s V8 Supercars championship. The cabin’s been left alone, mind, and these old V8 brutes were never known for all that swanky. Quite the opposite. But the great thing about them was they were affordable, like Australia’s equivalent of a Euro hot hatch, which is why they sold in such gigantic numbers.
Well, except for this particular model. According to the ad, only 25 Tickford Editions were built and, obviously, it was only available in Australia. Despite being 25 years old and spending much of its life in a roasting environment, this one’s a real minter. The paintwork looks extremely tidy, while the black plastics inside appear unfaded and devoid of that nasty sticky residue that’s just appeared on my 20-year-old Ford. Safe to say it hasn’t seen a hard day’s work of ute-ing in its life, or was at least given a good going over once its duties had been fulfilled.
The 33,400 miles its covered is impressive given how massive Australia is, and this is almost certainly the only one that made it over here. Its condition and rarity does mean you’ll need £26,950 to get yours hands on it, which is quite a lot even by rare V8 ute standards. For instance, this 2006 Falcon has more power for £9k less. And it’s purple. But newer Aussie V8s are much more popular with importers than older models like this. If you fondly remember the golden era of V8 Supercars and need to haul stuff in a hurry, the Tickford might just be everything you could ever want.
Probably pretty good fun, 235 bhp sounds a bit lame these days but expect its fairly light and its manual so probably moves pretty nicely.
Really not sure about the price, is there a market for it here? It's no doubt in stunning condition but Ute;s never really have the same value here that they do back overseas. Perhaps someone will be it and ship it out at that price.
I do want to own one at some point though.
You'd have to have some "conviction" to buy this and there's plenty of that down under as we got rid over here only to have the odd misfit like this back in return.
This Ford looks rather dated now and I'd much rather have a
Holden to take the Sheila shopping in. GaDay Poms!
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