Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon at a glance

Why Ford built a compact

The project was sponsored by Robert McNamara, then general manager of the Ford division, who insisted on low weight and low cost. He was promoted before the launch and soon left Ford to become United States Secretary of Defense, but many still call him "the father of the Falcon".

It was unveiled on 21 September 1959 as a two- or four-door sedan. A station wagon and the Ranchero, a car-based pickup, followed within months. The automatic Fordomatic transmission was the most important option, and the car was a hit at once: first-year sales passed half a million.

Generations and model years

Assembly took place at Claycomo (Missouri), Milpitas (California), Edison (New Jersey), Oakville (Ontario) and Cuautitlán (Mexico) for the first generation, and at Lorain (Ohio) and Cuautitlán for the second.

Falcon timeline

The original compact (1960–1963)

The first car was a simple unibody design with coil springs at the front, leaf springs at the rear and drum brakes all round. Its base engine was the 144 cu in (2.4-litre) Mileage Maker six with a single-barrel carburettor. The sources disagree on its output: English Wikipedia gives 71 kW (95 hp), the Falcon Registry 63 kW (85 hp) and Car & Classic 67 kW (90 hp). A 170 cu in (2.8-litre) six with 75 kW (101 hp) became optional in 1961.

The range grew quickly. The 1961 sedan delivery and the Futura with bucket seats were followed in 1962 by the Squire wagon with wood-effect trim. The same year brought the Club Wagon, an eight-seat van based on the Econoline; passenger Econolines carried the Falcon name from 1961 to 1967. For 1963 came Futura convertibles, a Sports Convertible with bucket seats, rev counter and a four-speed gearbox, and in the middle of the year the 260 cu in (4.3-litre) "Challenger" V8 with 122 kW (164 hp). It was the only V8 offered in a first-generation Falcon.

Sprint, Futura and the Mustang connection

The Sprint of 1963½ combined the 260 V8 with bucket seats in a two-door hardtop or convertible. English Wikipedia records 10,479 Sprint hardtops and 4,602 convertibles for that year.

More important was what came next. The first Ford Mustang, launched late in the 1964 model year, was based heavily on the Falcon's unitised body structure, and the 1963½ Sprint is described as almost mechanically identical to the 1964½ Mustang. The Mustang was an instant success, and Falcon sales never recovered from it. The Sprint package was overshadowed by its own offspring and was dropped after 1965. Our history of the Ford Mustang follows that car from 1964 onwards.

The square Falcon (1964–1965)

The second generation, launched for 1964, swapped the rounded body with sharper, squarer lines. A new 200 cu in (3.3-litre) six joined the range, and in late 1964 the 289 cu in (4.7-litre) V8 replaced the 260. The line-up included a two-door sedan, wagon, Squire wagon, Sprint hardtop, Futura convertible and, for 1965, a Futura four-door sedan. The last convertible Falcon was built on 26 June 1965.

On the Fairlane platform (1966–1970)

For 1966 the car moved to a shortened version of the intermediate Fairlane platform. Hardtops, convertibles and the Squire were dropped, leaving the Futura Sports Coupe as the top model, a four-door sedan and a five-door wagon. The Ranchero moved to the Fairlane line for 1967. Engines were the 170 and 200 Thriftpower sixes and the 289 and 302 V8s, and a 1966 Falcon raced in the Trans-Am series.

The 1970 model year was cut short: cars built until December 1969 matched the 1969 models. A "1970½" Falcon followed as the cheapest intermediate below the Fairlane and Torino, with a locking steering column and three-point seat belts. Its engines ran from a 250 cu in six with 116 kW (155 hp) to the 429 Cobra Jet Ram Air V8 with 276 kW (370 hp). For 1971 Ford used the Torino name across its intermediates, and the Falcon nameplate disappeared from North America.

Falcon engines and outputs

All outputs are SAE gross ratings of the period.

The Falcon name outside North America

The North American car was also built in Mexico, at Arica in Chile and at Oakville in Canada, where Ford also sold a Falcon-based car called the Frontenac for 1960. In Argentina it was built at Pacheco and its platform stayed in production until 1991. Australia is the best-known case: Ford Australia built the Falcon from 1960 and, from 1972, developed the Falcon as its own model line, which ran until October 2016.

Photo gallery