Guys

Thought I'd ask this here, as you may have an answer, being as much Ford nuts as I am Holden. I also don't want to start another Ford vs Holden discussion (we all know Holdens are better!! LOL).

Why is there so much reverence placed on the PhaseIII?
I do understand it was one mean mother of a car, and still is by Australian standards (I mean as compared to say a GT500 Mustang or other big block US Muscle cars). But as far as it's Bathurst record is concerned, it never really did all that much, ie it never had that much competition for 1971, and lost to a 6cyl LJ in 1972. From a pure competition perspective I would have thought the RPO83 coupes of 1973 and 1974 did bigger and better things in beating the very competitive 1973 spec XU1's and the 1974 L34's? I do understand in some ways the 1973 and 1974 wins were by default (pure bad luck both times by the HDT team) but that could be argued against plenty of other Bathurst wins by both camps. To my way of thinking the RPO83 should be up there at the pinnacle of valuable Aussie Fords, like the A9X - both for it's rarity and it's Bathurst successes.
In the Holden world the first muscle Holden is going to be the most valuable ie HK GTS327. Now in the Ford camp, why is the XR GT not the million dollar GT? The HK GTS327 will in the end probably only be rivalled by the A9X coupe (due to rarity and success) and the 1973 Bathurst spedc XU-1 (again for rarity). Is the phase III thing because of rarity? Or it because of it being the pinnacle of performance by Ford Australia (was the phase II quicker?)

Byron

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If we all had the same (good) taste, who would buy all the Fords?

I can't speak for everyone else but for me it's that shaker rocking away at the lights and then canting over as you accelerate...ooooh baby! :)

Good insights fellas.
Keith, I sort of disagree on the "mean" look thing. I reckon the XW HO and Phase II look a lot meaner than an XY. And on the looks front, the XA Phase IV trounced them both in the looks dept (again opinion only I know). I also under

Most points have been covered here I suppose. From a personal view I prefer the look of the XA to XC coupes myself and would have an RPO over an XY any day of the week. On saying that though I can still understand the thinking behind the XY being the pi

Like you said Byron the XW looks meaner. I prefer them as well. Could be as Paul said they were the last race cars before the scare.

The scare was some noddy calling them bullets on wheels and said 160mph cars on the roads.

The Australian goverment

This has been a bloody good natter all round hasn't it. Bryon, the RPOs were a mystery to most people until about 5 years ago. Very few people, including die hard ford fans had ever heard of one. The RPO was never a phase car. It was a stop gap so tha

yep its the xy for me? awesome!!
i once took off from the lights in my lh slr253 floored it, the ho, waited untill the lights changed to red, and he took off? he flew past me, and i was simply gobsmacked!! it was like i was standing still?/
cheers

I wonder if the Phase IV was built would it have been more valuable? Or if then XA coupe was then released in 1973 as a Phase V (rather than as a hidden production option ie RPO 83) if it would have been the big ticket item? Or if Ford muscle would have f

It's a shame we never got to big block muscle cars in Australia. We started a tiny bit too late, and if the Supercar scare hadn't killed them ADR27A would have. Imagine what the equivalent Falcon, Charger or Monaro to an L88 or ZL-1 (427) Camaro or a GT50