9^th April, 2003

Falcon GT was worth the wait

THE waiting is finally over for Ford and GT fans around Australia, with the first production Ford Performance Vehicles GT, GT-P and Pursuit models beginning to make their way to dealerships in late March.

One of the first privately owned FPV GTs was driven out of Courtney & Patterson Ford in Heidelberg last week and into the hands of an excited Amanda Gillespie.

Along with her husband Andrew, Amanda is a keen Ford fanatic and a member of the Falcon GT Club of Australia. Their love affair with Ford V8s began with a 1959 Ford Customline Star Model, which was replaced in 1993 with their first GT.

"When I heard that the new GT concept was on display at the Sydney Motor Show last October I immediately had to see it," said Amanda.

"Andrew and I went up to Sydney and not long afterwards I ordered my very own GT."

So keen were the Gillespies to be part of the return of the legendary GT that they ordered a number of different registration plate combinations.

"We've decided to use GTBA as our registration plate because it clearly marks the vehicle as a new GT that comes from the BA Falcon," said Amanda, who visited the FPV Open Day in early March to see her new car being built and has counted the days until she could take delivery of her GT.

"I had butterflies choosing the colour as there are so many great new ones to choose from,” she said.

“In the end I decided on Citric Acid and I also couldn't resist the stripes. I absolutely love the way it turned out. And now I can't wait to drive it."

The FPV range of vehicles is now on sale at 67 authorised Ford Performance Vehicles dealerships around Australia.