Ford XE Falcon

Ford Falcon (XE)
Ford Falcon GL sedan
Overview
Manufacturer	Ford Australia
Also called	Ford Fairmont (XE)
Production	March 1982 – October 1984
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size car
Body style	4-door Sedan 4-door Station Wagon 2-door Coupe utility 2-door Van
Powertrain
Engine	3.3-litre I6 4.1-litre carburetted I6 4.1-litre EFI I6 4.9-litre Cleveland V8 5.8-litre Cleveland V8
Transmission	3-spd manual (column) 4-spd manual (floor) 5-spd manual (floor) 3-spd auto (column & floor)
Chronology
Predecessor	Ford Falcon (XD)
Successor	Ford Falcon (XF)

The Ford Falcon (XE) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1982 to 1984. It was the second iteration of the fourth generation of this Australian-made model and also included the Ford Fairmont (XE)—the luxury-oriented version of the Falcon.

Introduced on 11 March 1982, the XE was a revised version of the XD Falcon, which it replaced. Its external differences were restricted to a new nose, new rear bumper, and taillights. The biggest technical change was the introduction of a four link suspension system incorporating rear coil springs on the sedans. Wagons, utes and vans retained the rear semi-elliptical leaf springs as used on XD models. Up until 1991, the XE was Ford Australia's last V8-powered Falcon.

The XE-series was introduced with a choice of five engines.

The 5.8 L (351 cu in) engine availability was restricted during the XE-series to only the Falcon GL and Fairmont Ghia ESP sedans, but stock remained available for assembly within F-series and Bronco vehicles through to August 1985. Ford Australia also built a quantity of 4-bolt 5.8 litre engines — similar to those used in NASCAR at the time — for race purposes in Australia. When the engine's local racing career ended at the end of 1984, the surplus stock was shipped and sold in the United States for use in DeTomaso Panteras as Detroit did not offer the 351 Cleveland engine anymore. The last Australian manufactured Cleveland V8-powered Ford Falcon passenger car was a silver 4.9 L (302 cu in) Ford Fairmont (XE) Ghia ESP sedan, VIN # JG32AR33633K, in November 1982 (although Ford promoted this car as the "Last V8" there were a number of V8 XE Falcons produced after this build number).

A fuel-injected “EFI” version of the 4.1 L (250 cu in) six-cylinder was introduced in February 1983 to, in effect, replace the V8s, but initially produced only 149 hp (111 kW) and 325 N·m (240 ft·lb) of torque, well down from the 188 hp (140 kW) and 344 N·m (254 ft·lb) previously produced by the defunct 4.9 L (302 cu in) V8.