The start of the local Ford GT dynasty
For Ford collectors, this is one of the landmark cars in the local range – the first time a V8 was available in the local Falcon line-up and of course the start of a long line of cars wearing the GT badge.
Essentially the XR was a clean-sheet design over its predecessors, with a longer wheelbase and wider track, plus more tornsional rigidity.
As for the powerplant, it was the 289ci V8 from Ford USA, commonly used across the range including the Mustang. In XR GT trim, it claimed 220 horses.
This example claims to have had only three owners over time, one of whom had a complete restoration done by Grand Tourer in Melbourne.
It’s a four-speed manual, which the owner has had signed by two of the good folk who raced this model and won at Bathurst in 1967: Fred Gibson and Harry Firth.
If everything checks out, it seems to be the GT to have though the price is subsrtantial at $185k. Located in Vic, you can see it here.