Ford XR8

There was Holden with its 5.7lt V-eight range-topping engine with 220kW and more recently 225kW at its disposal. And all Ford had by way of counter-attack was its old 5lt V-eight with 185kW.

Then a strange thing happened. Knocked to the canvas in the monthly sales race yet again, Ford struggled to its corporate feet and got serious about extracting some serious poke from its Windsor V-eight.

First came 200kW and then 220kW for its flagship T-Series TS50. But since the T-Series was a sales disappointment, Ford suddenly had a huge investment in hot-rodded V-eight engines with nowhere to go with it.

The solution was to make the 220kW standard kit on the humbler XR8 and, in the process, offer a great value package with what amounted to a hand-built, 220kW engine.

How hand built? Well, the bloke who does the final assembly engraves his name on a little plaque fixed to the rocker cover.

As well as being a bit special on that level, the XR8 also happens to be a damn handy tow vehicle. See, all that horsepower comes with a good serving of torque as well, and with the Ford's intelligent four-speed automatic gearbox (or the optional five-speed manual) the XR8 could almost have been made with towing trailerboats in mind.

Of course, there's no doubt this will be the old Windsor's last hurrah. In fact, Australia is the last country to use the engine in an automotive application. Also, the last batch of engines has now arrived, so that's pretty much it.

But, in 220kW form, it's also fair to say the Windsor has hit a truly purple patch. The modifications that have lifted output from 185 to 220kW amount to a different camshaft, alloy cylinder heads, an extractor exhaust system, different air-intake system and good old-fashioned hot-rodder stuff like roller rockers.

In fact, Tickford (Ford's performance arm, which engineered and carries out the mods) strips each engine to pretty much a bare short motor and then starts again.

The end result is 220kW at 5250rpm and meaty torque of 435Nm at 4000rpm; spot on for getting heavy loads rolling and keeping them there.

The rest of the XR8 package is damn impressive, too. The front suspension works well and provides one of the most tactile steering responses you'll find in a big car. But the rear end, too, is a smart set-up that uses proper upper and lower wishbones for a truly independent rear end.

Standard brakes are a straight lift from the AU Series 2 Falcon, which is fine because they're bigger and more fade-resistant than the AU Series 1 set-up, but there is a better choice. Ford offers a premium braking package which provides bigger, grooved rotors and more powerful calipers. It's not a cheap option at a sniff over $3000, but it should be the first option box a boat-owner ticks.

The body kit is a bit 'take it or leave it', but overall, the Tickford quad-headlight set-up gives the car some real aggression and the 17-inch alloy wheels don't hurt a bit.

Inside, you get plenty of fruit like power everything and a CD player, although the leather trim is optional.

At around $52,000 on the road with the big optional brakes, the XR8 is dear by Falcon standards, but pretty good value considering it's a hugely fast four-door that will seat five big people and still haul a trailer-boat at improbable velocities.

It's also probably the best Falcon yet. Ever.