2010 Ford Performance Vehicles F6E Drive Test

I hate to pull out that old saying 'with great power comes great responsibility' but that's exactly the idea behind this car. At first glance it looks very responsible indeed.

Then you notice how low it sits to the tarmac, how the rubber on the big alloy wheels is liquorice thin. And then there are the big red brake callipers (six pot at front, four pot at rear) with that magical name 'Brembo' embossed into them. Also take note of the cross drilled and ventilated brake discs front and rear.

This, ladies and gentlemen is the perfect car for someone who doesn't want to show off, but likes to blow other cars into the weeds.

Ford Performance Vehicles have realised that there's a section of the market that doesn't want extravagant spoilers and aggressive nose extensions to go along with their high performance ride, and so that's why the F6E exists.

For those of you who have no idea of what FPV is, it's the Ford Australia version of BMW's M-Division, or Merc's AMG. It's a sort of skunk works that takes ordinary cars and makes them most un-ordinary.

Let's start with the engine. It's a 4.0 litre straight six cylinder with twin overhead cams and a very large turbocharger. The result is an eyeball blurring 310kW (415hp) and 565Nm (416lb ft) of torque. See what I mean about having great power?

Here's a car that will accelerate so quickly you end up with most of your intestines wrapped around your spine, and it's not only the straight line acceleration that impresses, because the F6E will grab the road like a limpet and refuse to let go.

You can turn the stability control off if you are really brave or totally reckless, but FPV engineers have already thought of that, tuning the stability system to allow the rear end of the car to swing out just enough to make you look like a rally star and then reign everything back in again.

The six speed ZF gearbox can be used in either automatic or manual mode, but I fully recommend going to manual, as you can short shift under acceleration and make the engine and intake manifold emit some very sexy mechanical woofles, puffs and growls as the turbocharger system vents excess pressure.

As this is the luxury model in the FPV range virtually everything is covered in leather and you get both sat nav and full iPod integration. As with any Falcon there's more than enough room inside for four burly adults, and the boot is large enough for you to hear an echo when you shout into it.

This then, is a car that has it all. Understated looks that won't alert police or any boy racers combined with performance virtually straight off a race track. Just don't ask about the fuel bills.