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1979.
Car: 1973 Ford Falcon XB Coupe (Austrailian Ford).
Featured in the Mad Max film series was an Austrailian 'Falcon',
a hybrid of the American Torino's rear styling joined to a Mustang base and front end. The car was outfitted with a blower
(fake casing over a working carb!), for such occassions as seen in the films....you never know when mutant hot-rodders are
gonna wanna steal your gasoline, y'know?
After the film company was 'finished' with this car, they sent it to the junkyard...after
having invested $35,000 building it!!! Thankfully, a fan/collector discovered and restored it to the condition shown here.
The
original black Interceptor then appeared in car shows and museum displays across Australia, before finally being sold to the
Cars
of the Stars Museum' in Keswick, England, where it sits today.
Now, let's get to
the good stuff concerning this car. The car that Max drives is a production car, the Ford XB Falcon Hardtop, sold in
Australia from December 1973 until August 1976. This page says that the Australian
Falcon is a hybrid of the American Torino's rear styling joined to a Mustang base and front end. Although a car with the name
Falcon was built in the United States during the late 1960s, it wasn't the same as the Australian versions and I think it
was discontinued around 1968. These '60s Falcons were very boxy and show little to no resemblance to our beloved Interceptor.
So far, I have been unable to determine the exact year of Mad Max's car. (Eureka! I now know it's a 1973!) One curious
thing I found since I began my research is that it is widely reported that the front end of Max's car is not a Falcon front
end at all. One of the main pieces of evidence given is that the headlights are square instead of round. However, I found it is a stock Australian Ford
Falcon (nope, now I know it's a Ford Fairmont XC. see below) with square headlights (see pic).
Compare this car with
the Interceptor, the similarities are numerous. The hood looks the same, the gas tank cap is in the same place, and the backseat
side windows have the same shape. Now, you will probably notice that the front ends of the two cars have some differences.
Max's vehicle has some ground effects with a different bumper and a sloping cover piece (nose cone) over the front grill.
It is suggested in the Mad Max FAQ that the original front
end was replaced by a Ford Fairmont front end (it definitely was a Fairmont front end. see below). It is said that $35,000
was spent to build the Interceptor.
Another modification
made to the car is the addition of a roof spoiler from an XC Falcon panel van. Also, for The Road Warrior, two large fuel
tanks were added to the car that protrude through the back window.
Cars
at the Carlisle all Ford show 2001
The
pictures below are all from the Carlisle PA Ford show, June 2001, and were sent to me by various people who attended the show.
You might also be interested in the Mad Max article that was posted at the Carlisle Media Site, and also check out
the main Cars At Carlisle page itself, ww.carsatcarlisle.com.
Photos
by Evan Maxwell
Falcons
of Mark Scarselli (yellow XB coupe and Rod Horner (black Interceptor).
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