Shannons Club: Ford AU Falcon: The wing-shaped supercar that struggled to fly

Image: www.autopics.com.au thanks to the Shannons Club

Arriving in 1998 with curvaceous new looks and a mission to destroy Holden’s VT Commodore, the Ford AU Falcon certainly got people talking. That potential would never be fully realised, however, so what happened?

“We knew the basic body shape of the car worked against downforce because when viewed in silhouette (side view) its top half (body outline) was shaped like an aircraft wing, so it provided plenty of aerodynamic lift at racing speeds” – Mark Larkham

For one thing, the curves that made up its slippery looking silhouette turned out to be quite a challenge to handle at racing speeds. And while they made for a more aerodynamically efficient car on the roads, they were a challenge in the showrooms as the look never quite caught on with buyers.

Hope for the car’s future lay in its performance out on the track, and it did find some success there. Head over to the Shannons Club to check out Ford AU Falcon: The wing-shaped supercar that struggled to fly and find out how.