Ford's quirky South American history - PerformanceDrive
Like Australia, Ford’s South American outpost has been allowed to evolve for decades – tailoring vehicles to their own market – resulting in a strange and unique portfolio. South America’s automotive landscape is very unique and intriguing. As South American economies like Brazil continue to grow, the continent is getting access to more global cars with higher safety standards. Under Ford’s One Ford plan, Ford seeks to reduce the amount of global platforms from its current 15 to just 9. Before that happens, let’s have a look at some of the unique-to-South-America offerings of Ford. Argentinian Ford Falcon. The Argentinian Falcon was a best-seller from 1963 through to the 1980s. Like our version, it was favoured for police and taxi duties, and was a popular race car. A “Ranchero” ute was also offered with a 700kg payload. Interestingly, power was derived from the original 170ci engine all the way through, with the 188 and 221 ci (3. 0 and 3. 6L) engines of our XR-series also adopted. In the ’80s a 2. 4-litre VM Motori diesel with 52kW was added, as well as, get this, a four-cylinder 2. 3-litre Pinto engine whose 66kW actually dwarfed the 62kW of. Source: performancedrive.com.au
