New Territory caught in the wild
James Stanford and Paul Gover
02dec05
The turbo-boosted Territory has been caught out in the open. Ford's new all-wheel-drive, which is expected to be launched at the Melbourne International Motor Show next February, has been captured on camera by CARSguide.
The exclusive picture shows a prototype Territory with front body cladding that fails to hide a large turbo air intake. Ford Australia refuses to confirm its plans to produce a turbo version of the crossover wagon, but the boosted Territory has been in development for some time and is tipped to arrive in showrooms next year.
The fast Territory has been developed by Ford's technology partner Prodrive, which also played a lead role in the development of the original Falcon XR6 turbo.
However the turbo Territory will be a Ford only product and not an FPV. That leaves open the possibility of a more potent FPV Territory turbo to be developed later on, just as the FPV Typhoon followed the Ford Falcon XR6 turbo.
The turbo Territory will be an all-wheel-drive model, even though Ford could have saved some development costs and released it as rear-wheel-drive model. It uses an engine with a different set-up to the regular XR6 turbo.
The turbo intercooler (which cools air before it is pushed into the turbo-charger) in the XR6 turbo is mounted at the front of the engine, because there is not enough space at the top.
The intercooler for the boosted Territory sits atop the engine, a location which offers many packaging advantages, including less intercooler tubing, for one.
That explains the air scoop on the bonnet; to force fresh air on to the intercooler. The air scoop is not only functional, but also makes the turbo Territory model stand out from the standard models, much like the XR8's bulging bonnet differentiates them from XR6s.
The turbo Territory features uniquely-tuned suspension -- which is firmer than the standard Territory set-up -- and more potent brakes.
The Territory is currently only sold with one engine; the 4.0-litre in-line six-cylinder that is also used in the Falcon range.
Ford is believed to be also considering a diesel powerplant for the Territory.
A top quality 2.7-litre V6 turbo diesel could be sourced from prestige brands Land Rover and Jaguar, which are part of the wider Ford family, but the cost of sourcing the hi-tech engine is believed to pose a problem.
Another option is a duel fuel, or single fuel LPG Territory, but Ford does not appear keen.
"That is much further down the interest tree," says Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary. She adds that the company is considering a range of options for the Territory but will not comment on what those options are.
One of the biggest problems with the LPG Territory is that the larger gas tank would take up the space used to store the spare wheel.
The spare wheel would then have to be carried inside the vehicle, which is far from ideal.
There is also the question of whether there would be much demand, given that most of LPG Falcons are sold to fleets, while very few Territory models are bought as fleet vehicles.
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Bonnet scoop looks pretty coool...Cant notice much difference in front styling...id say there would be in the final product though...
Now ive just gotta convince my dad to trade in his territory for the turbo model