Tickford Vehicle Engineering
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The "Tickford wings" badge
on a Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint variant |
|
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner | Ford Australia, Tickford |
| 25th Anniversary GT | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Tickford / Ford Australia |
| Production | 1992 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Full-size car |
| Body style | 4-door sedan |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 5.0 L Windsor V8 |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 4-speed automatic |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Falcon GT (XB series) |
| Successor | Falcon GT (EL series) |
| 30th Anniversary GT | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Tickford / Ford Australia |
| Production | 1997 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Full-size car |
| Body style | 4-door sedan |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 5.0 L Windsor V8 |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 4-speed automatic |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | EB GT |
| Successor | BA GT |
 |
|
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner | Ford Australia, Tickford |
| Website | www.fpv.com.au |
Tickford Vehicle Engineering (TVE) was responsible for numerous automotive projects and upgrades for Ford Australia between 1991 and 2002. In 1999, TVE setup Ford Tickford Experience (FTE) as a competitor to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). In 2002, the operations changed to Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) coinciding with Tickford's global operations being bought out by Prodrive.
In 1990, 12 years since the last Falcon Cobra rolled off the line, Ford Australia started a worldwide search to find to engineering firm to establish a new performance arm in the same mold as rival to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). The aim was to create a line-up of in-house performance cars that had been missing from the Falcon range since the 1970s. Ford Australia's last foray in this space was in fact represented by the 1982 XE-series "European Sports Pack" Falcon.
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, this performance void was filled by third party tuning companies such as AVO, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) and Dick Johnson Racing (DJR). Both AVO and DJR had experimented with using turbocharged powerplants to boost the output of Falcon's venerable 4.0-Litre 6-cylinder, with DJR creating the Grand Prix Turbo based on the XE. DJR had intended his company to be set up as a performance arm not unlike Peter Brock's Holden Dealer Team (HDT), but Ford was wary of such modifications due to warranty concerns. This meant that sales of both AVO and DJR Falcons remained very limited. SVO had greater success in the creation of a range of cars, starting with the Falcon EA series SVO (a car that formed the template for the subsequent XR6), however, Ford still did not provide factory-backing. Ultimately, Ford Australia joined forces with Tickford, renowned in Europe for its modified Ford models.
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Wikipedia