RSS

1963-1965 Ford Falcon Sprint

Posted by Sloan Schang

A trio of American compact automobiles pioneered the domestic answer to the small, efficient European imports that gained popularity in the 1950s. These three cars – the Chevrolet Corvair, The Plymouth Valiant, and the Ford Falcon – all arrived in the same model year, 1960. But to say that these first small cars burst onto the automotive scene would be hyperbole. Modest trim, slow pick-up, and fuel-efficient (read: paltry) power mills defined the class as much as their compact innovations. And within a few years, all three automakers began offering beefed up, sportier versions of their base models. None of these would shine brighter, briefer, or sell faster than the gloriously short-lived Ford Falcon Sprint.

The $2,600 Sprint was built on the basic Falcon platform, a unitized body and frame with independent front suspension and a live rear axle, but it blew out the original 90-101 hp options with a 260-c.i., 164 hp V8 that was capable of hitting its torque peak at just 2,200 rpm. The package that was irresistible to young, fun-seeking, and power-hungry buyers.

The same small-block V8 was available in non-Sprint Falcons, but only the styling of the Sprint allowed the car to reach its “total performance” potential. The Sprint driver drops into a deep vinyl bucket, faced with a racing-style steering wheel, Borg Warner’s four on the floor, and an enticing 6,000 rpm tachometer. Surrounded by rocker panels of heavy gauge steel, splashy chrome touches on the air cleaner, valve covers, oil and radiator fill caps (and even the dipstick), and riding on 13-inch wheels with glittery wire rims, the Sprint owner feels like they’re driving America’s first showroom hot rod.

And maybe they are. There’s no question that Ford was aggressively marking its small-muscle territory with the Sprint. The car facilitated the entry of the blue oval to rally-style racing, and the once utilitarian Falcon became a two-year novelty of the international rally race circuit. Surprisingly nimble performances in the 1963 and 1964 Monte Carlo rallies, coupled with a domestic advertising blitz, turned many American sports car buyers towards Ford. Sales of the Sprint increased in its two prime years of production, topping out at around 16,000 in 1964. But in 1965, the introduction of the Mustang lopped off sales of all Falcons, immediately halting production of the Sprint and effectively ending the entire Falcon line by 1970.

Yet it’s the brief intensity of America’s love affair with the Falcon Sprint that keeps it on many collectors’ lists. Whether it was simply an excuse for Ford to break into rally racing or a harbinger of the Mustang’s sporty compact dynasty, the Falcon Sprint remains a small car with a big legacy.