Perhaps the strangest and at the same time one of the coolest type of vehicle ever made is the Australian ute. Born Down Under at the request of customers that needed a car to drive to church on Sundays and to use for work in the rest of the week, utes have been tried elsewhere as well, but with far less success.
Blending the looks and abilities of a passenger car with those of a pickup truck, utes have been around since the early 1930s, and Ford is the company credited with making the first production version one in the form of a modified Model A with a tray at the rear.
The concept stuck, and soon others, including Holden and Chrysler, joined in on the fun, creating a niche type of vehicle that would later make it stateside as well – there, the Chevrolet El Camino is the best representation of the segment.
Presently, utes are no longer as desirable as they used to be, for a number of reasons. But that doesn’t diminish the glamour of these cars, especially when we’re talking about ones as unique as the Ford Falcon XR6 we have here.
The car in the gallery above is believed to be the only one of its kind to be available in the U.S., and it is one of just a little over 1,000 made in this configuration. Available for sale, and literally a bargain, it could be the perfect starting point for a custom build that might prove incredible.
The car comes with all the original equipment it had when it first rolled off assembly lines a quarter of a century ago, with the exception of an aftermarket Alpine head unit and a cone-type air filter. Imported from New Zealand in 2017, it can be legally driven on American roads.
Under the hood the Falcon hides the stock, Tickford-tuned 4.0-liter inline-six engine linked to an automatic transmission and rated at 220 hp.
As said, the car is for sale, and at time of this writing the bid is at $6,500. That’s literally a steal, and if one finds the right ideas, it could become the next hot build we’ll talk about in a few months’ time.
The concept stuck, and soon others, including Holden and Chrysler, joined in on the fun, creating a niche type of vehicle that would later make it stateside as well – there, the Chevrolet El Camino is the best representation of the segment.
Presently, utes are no longer as desirable as they used to be, for a number of reasons. But that doesn’t diminish the glamour of these cars, especially when we’re talking about ones as unique as the Ford Falcon XR6 we have here.
The car in the gallery above is believed to be the only one of its kind to be available in the U.S., and it is one of just a little over 1,000 made in this configuration. Available for sale, and literally a bargain, it could be the perfect starting point for a custom build that might prove incredible.
The car comes with all the original equipment it had when it first rolled off assembly lines a quarter of a century ago, with the exception of an aftermarket Alpine head unit and a cone-type air filter. Imported from New Zealand in 2017, it can be legally driven on American roads.
Under the hood the Falcon hides the stock, Tickford-tuned 4.0-liter inline-six engine linked to an automatic transmission and rated at 220 hp.
As said, the car is for sale, and at time of this writing the bid is at $6,500. That’s literally a steal, and if one finds the right ideas, it could become the next hot build we’ll talk about in a few months’ time.