1982 Ford XE Fairmont Ghia ESP - 4.9 Litre V8 4 Speed

There was a period in Ford's history in Australia where the initials GT seemed to be a dirty word. Thankfully Ford eventually came to it's senses, heard the underlying cry from the customer base and saw the giant advantage they had handed to GMH and brought back the V8 and with it the GT. But along the way in this sometimes barren period from the end of the XB GT to the resurrection with the EB GT, Ford did produce some pretty special GT style cars but cloaked them in a variety of aliases.

We all remember the GXL Fairmont Ghia in the XC range and of course the XC Falcon Cobras. And with the XD and XE Ford came up with another alias for a GT in the Fairmont Ghia ESP. All these cars offered some GT style go-fast bits including the option of the 351 Cleveland all supposedly with the idea of moving the whole performance Ford thing upmarket.

Where Ford really got it right is with the XE Fairmont Ghia ESP. A mouthful to say but pretty much as mouth watering a car as you could buy from Ford back in 1982.

Like the GTs before it, the top spec'd XE was based on the Fairmont Ghia. Back in 1982 that meant that you got power steering, air-conditioning, power windows, central locking, a power antenna and a premium sound system.

And while the engines stayed standard and the gearbox and diff were no different to any other V8 Fairmont, there were some important tweaks. Those started with the four-wheel-disc brakes and continued with the Bilstein shocks and lowered springs. Add the 15" Snowflake alloys and 60-series Uniroyal tyres and you had yourself a pretty flash ride.

Inside, the standard front pews were ditched in favour of a set of truly lovely Scheel buckets and the whole lot was trimmed in the soft-touch trim that spelled `luxury’ back in the day. The ESP got full instrumentation, too, with six gauges (speed, tacho, fuel, temp, oil and volts) housed in the big, rectangular XE binnacle.

The XE Fairmont Ghia ESPs were produced in very limited numbers. Only 260 XE ESPs were spec'd with the 302 engine and automatic transmission. Another 100 with the same small-block and a four-speed manual tranny and 178 with the 351 Cleveland all of which were four-speed manuals. Making the 302 4 speed version the rarest of the breed.

For sale is a magnificent example of the XE Fairmont Ghia ESP. In stunning Monza Red with those wonderful Scheel seats trimmed in Gunmetal cloth, this is indeed a rare offering and a highly sort after Aussie Muscle car for the Ford collector. Showing a Log booked 197,939 kilometres, this ESP is an unrestored example with original Monza Red paint and only a repaint to the Charcoal. The engine bay and boot are also all original paint and the interior is all day one with no wear showing to the original Gunmetal trim. This is testament to how well the previous owners have cared for this car.

Mechanically, the engine is all matching numbers and has never been removed. The 4.9 litre V8 purrs along and has been fully maintained and is totally unmodified. The 4 speed single rail gearbox and diff are in perfect condition. The interior is in incredible condition with nil wear and tear to the original Gunmetal Scheel seats, perfect steering wheel, all working gauges, optional Philips Premium sound system and working Air conditioning.

The XE ESP comes with the original owners Log Books, manuals, Dealer Folder with business card from Allan Flohr Ford, Toowoomba, QLD, 2 sets of original keys, a new car range brochure plus a set of NOS mud flaps and a Ford Verification letter. The original Uniroyal spare tyre is still in the boot with the original Snowflake alloy rim. The original dealer sticker of Allan Flohr Ford, Toowoomba, QLD, is still on the rear window. And there is also a commemorative collectable 50 cents coin issued by the Australian Mint and Australia post.

This is indeed a very rare offering nowadays and an excellent unrestored and fully documented example of what has become an extremely hard Falcon to purchase.

Located in our Sydney Showroom for inspection by appointment. (Ref. 5969)

We are happy to arrange a video inspection of the car using WhatsApp. Please call for more details and note Door to Door enclosed transport is available anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.

Call Mike on 0414 278 604 or Rod on 0499 577 997 and let us assist you with your inquiries. Also please note if you have a quality Muscle or Classic car you wish to list or have valued please give us a call at AMCS, we will be happy to assist you.