This week marks a major milestone in Australian automotive history—Ford is celebrating 100 years of operations in Australia.

Since first opening its doors in Geelong in 1925, Ford has shaped the roads and racetracks with some of the most iconic vehicles ever built. From the humble beginnings of the Model T assembled locally, to the birth of uniquely Australian legends like the Falcon GT-HO Phase III, and periods of dominance on the racetrack courtesy of legends like Moffat, Johnson, Ambrose, Lowndes and McLaughlin. Ford's impact on Aussie motoring is impossible to overstate. 

At Diecast Detective, we're celebrating over a century of Ford innovation and performance throughout April by highlighting some the most significant, iconic and sought-after 1:18 scale Australian Ford diecast models ever released. Check back each week as we update the list with new additions!

ICONIC RACE CARS

Ford's First Bathurst Winner

1963 Armstrong 500 Winner - Firth/Jane - Cortina GT
Produced by APEX Replicas

This model has experienced major price fluctuations, driven by its scarce availability and inconsistent build quality. While it's a must-have for any Bathurst Winners collection, its quality often falls short of the high price tags set by sellers. The market is crying out for someone like Authentic Collectables to reproduce it. 

First Falcon Bathurst Victory

1967 Gallaher 500 Winner - Firth/Gibson - XR Falcon GT
Produced by AUTOart and Classic Carlectables

First Bathurst 1-2 Finish

1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 Winner & Runner-Up - Moffat/Ickx & Bond/Hamilton
Produced by AUTOart and Classic Carlectables 

The Emergence of Dick Johnson

In the 1980 Bathurst 1000, Dick Johnson’s privately funded XD Falcon was leading the race when it struck a rock on the track, ending his run and nearly ruining him financially. The Australian public and Ford rallied behind him with donations, allowing him to rebuild and return triumphantly to win Bathurst in 1981 and cement his status as a Ford legend. 

 

Biante released this model complete with a replica rock, as part of the Dick Johnson Collection, and over 20 years later, it remains one of the most traded and sought-after diecast models in Australia.

 

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'Green-Eyed Monster' - The Most Iconic Unsuccessful Touring Car Ever?

The AU Falcon had an image problem from the moment it was released. The cheese-cutter grill on the Forte was Ford Australia's "Edsel Moment". They say "There are no ugly winning race cars." but sadly the AU Falcon V8 Supercar wasn’t a winner, so it struggled to shake the “ugly” label.

 

In a bid to turn things around, Ford signed Craig Lowndes in 2001. He won the third race of the season at the Adelaide 500, but the rest of the season brought little joy—until the final race. Driving the striking ‘Green-Eyed Monster’ he’d first debuted with Neil Crompton at Bathurst, Lowndes claimed its only ever race win. A pole position the following year was its only other highlight.

Despite its meagre success and the unpopular nature of the donor car, today it is regarded as one of the best looking Australian Touring Cars of all-time.

Biante released two diecast models of the 'Green-Eyed Monster'; the 2001 Bathurst car and the 2002 season car.

 

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BA Falcon - The Drought Breaker

 

Ford fans had a rough run in the late 1990s, as the all-conquering Holden VT/VX Commodore dominated the big stages. From 1999 to 2002, Holden claimed every Bathurst 1000 and V8 Supercars Championship. Marcos Ambrose’s breakthrough title in 2003 finally ended the championship drought, but the Bathurst pain lingered until 2006, when Lowndes and Whincup delivered an emotionally charged win, also in a BA Falcon, just weeks after Peter Brock’s death. 

Stone Brothers Racing would go on to win the next two championships with Ambrose and Russell Ingall, while Triple Eight’s Lowndes and Whincup secured back-to-back Bathurst victories to complete a Ford resurgence.

2003 Championship Winner - Marcos Ambrose - BA Falcon


2006 Bathurst Winner - Lowndes/Whincup - BA Falcon


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ICONIC STREET CARS

First Muscle Car

1967 XR Falcon GT

Descibed by many as a four-door Mustang, the XR Falcon GT of 1967 was a revelation in terms of performance an is viewed as Australia first home-grown performance car. Its legacy was cemented with victory in that year's Bathurst 500.
Produced by AUTOart and Classic Carlectables

World's Fastest Four-Door Production Car

1971 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III

AUTOart, Biante and Classic Carlectables have produced 28 variations of the legendary XY GT-HO Phase III in street guise. Picking just one is a near-impossible task so we'll go with the most famous and significant models, those being the first two Biante releases: Track Red and Ultra White (Twin Mirror). You can read more about the history of these models here.

Most Iconic

A breathtaking mix of necessity and marketing brilliance led to the release of the XC Falcon Cobra in 1978. With the XC Falcon in runout in readiness for the release of the XD Falcon, Ford Australia found itself with 400 unsold hardtop body shells. Rather than scrapping them, a plan was hatched to turn them into a limited edition hero car. Both AUTOart (Biante) and Classic Carlectables have released Option 96 and Option 97 variants of this iconic vehicle.

XC Falcon Cobra Option 96 (AUTOart / Classic Carlectables)

XC Falcon Cobra Option 97 (AUTOart / Classic Carlectables)

The Return of the GT and the Arrival of Barra Power

In 2003 Ford launched its performance brand, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV). In 2004, Biante and Classic Carlectables started releasing their range of BA-based FPV models. Classic led the charge with a pair of GTs and Pursuit utes followed by a pair of GT-Ps a few months later, around the same time the Biante products launched to market.

Following the release of BA MK II, Classic released the first 'Barra'-powered models, the F6 Typhoon and Tornado which remain the only six-cylinder Falcons produced in 1:18.

With over 25 BA FPV models released, we'll focus on the first release models from Classic Carlectables.

BA Falcon GT (Citric Acid / Blood Orange)

BA Pursuit 290 (Acid Rush / Blood Orange)

BA GT-P (Acid Rush / Phantom with Orange Stripes)

 
BA MK II F6 Typhoon & Tornado