Holy Grail Has Arrived
I’ve been in and around the car world my entire life, my racing career is almost 50 years on and (thankfully) I’m still racing. I’ve been involved in the area of vehicle development since the mid nineties with Ford, in the performance arena and I was there at the birth of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) back in early 2000’s
I was FPV’s Development Driver, I worked closely with the Engineering Group at Ford and FPV on future models including XR6/8, FPV’s GT and the game changing F6 platform. I loved the role and met some of Australia’s smartest engineers. Over the years a number of engineering concepts were shelved … for various reasons – much to the disappointment of the engineering groups.
One such project that never made it out of the skunk work to market was what we called (internally) Holy Grail. It was designed to pay respect to the most iconic Ford Falcon ever built. There was a deep desire and drive to create the ultimate version of the modern Ford Falcon.
It was 2012 under the guise of the GT Black that Prodrive Engineers under Chief Engineer Bernie Quinn (who was) Head of Powertrain Engineering. They created a concept car than was first shown at the Australian Motorshow in Melbourne that year. It was a beast of a car with its wide ‘open mouth front bar’ gulping massive cold air into the water-cooled Harrop Supercharger.
The front bar (intakes) and staggered rear tyre/wheels might have provided a few clues to the dormant beast. The Prodrive Engineers had perfectly created the ultimate Falcon the most iconic modern FORD GT ever built. While nothing will ever match the legend of the XY GTHO, this comes so close and is much more refined in performance and delivery of power as you might expect given the tract of time!
The Holy Grail didn’t make it to market (then) … now after years of refinement – it will finally be built! I’ve driven it, and it will seriously make your eyes water. I’ve driven some fast cars in my time – nothing will quite prepare you for this! It’s staggering how it puts its power down, dominantly marching through the rev range like no other Aussie car I’ve ever driven – with beautifully matched power/torque delivered seamlessly!
This is seriously high end ‘factory specification’ – it’s what I’ve come to expect from these guys. We recently tested Holy Grail on a 5k private road, so it was a very real environment like you’d experience when your drove Holy Grail. If you own a Miami 5 litre Supercharged V8 – the Premcar Holy Grail package is a must (I reckon). It will change the life of your Aussie V8 forever!
The Premcar engineers are clever and in my experience – no one knows it like they do, they are wired that way. Some people just don't have the feel/get it – Bernie's crew sure do. So, not happy with just their engine program the boys kept going .. as I knew they would. Every bit they aimed at they've taken to a new level.
For no known reason, we equate sound with speed – it's crazy but true! Using their clever engineering knowledge they've added an exhaust that would bring a huge smile to Henry Ford face, he so wanted to build a V8 and worked behind the scenes to make it happen – the Premcar SVT boys have done him proud!
It is the best I've ever heard. Apart from the highest level of raw materials, they've worked on only what they know – they've managed to tweak the program in the PCM to extract maximum sound under load (throttle). Just fantastic, well done boys!
I'm aware of their plans and work they've completed – no question GT/Sprint and previous variants needed/wanted bigger rubber .. I think it's fair to say - they need it! Big rubber always improves the performance and the stance. Fitting bigger rubber, the boys needed to re engineer the trail blade to accommodate, resulting in a killer look and massively improved handling!
While you're at it ... let's upgrade suspension – intoducing my buddy Brett O'Brien who is a Master in terms of suspension/damping. Many times we battled it out at Winton Raceway, the closest engineer in Australia to a race driver - that's how I'd rate on him. He's a way better Engineer than I am a driver .. so he's the only guy I know who can develop and test him own work and he knows it all. He almost put me out of a job .. haha!
Probably the most critical icomponent on your car are tyres .... I think the team did you guys massive favour with their tyre selection. It has taken their Handling Options (HO) package over the top.. your Holy Grail will run Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R Spec tyres. The newest release made a great tyre even better, I've driven and raced on them – the best choice by far!
I can say this (and the boys can't) ... respectfully – when they design/develop/engineer any car, the end sell price is set and so they must work backwards to achieve a cost number. The Holy Grail SVT (team) have turned that process on it's head and built what they know is right in their heads/hearts, the result is outstanding ... and the final cost will be what it will be! Well done boys, thanks to the leadership team of Bernie Q, Foss and Lynchie – I reckon your guys delivered above the line in a very big fashion!
JB's Overview – Premcar is a world class engineering operation … no one knows Aussie Ford product better than these guys. They were the creators of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and the Miami Engine program - for serious car folk like me, this ‘Factory Conversion’ package is world class in terms of specification and the door can finally close on our Aussie V8 Muscle Car and manufacturing.
Cheers,
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