The Ford Discovery Centre opened in 1999 and was an interactive museum that showcased and preserved the heritage of Ford Australia.
It was in situated in Geelong, Victoria, on the corner of Brougham and Gheringhap Streets. This location was significant as the Centre was situated across the road from Ford Australia’s original manufacturing site. Ford started Australian manufacturing operations in 1925 at this location before moving to North Geelong a year or two later with their engine, stamping, engineering and design facilities. In 2016, Ford Australia unfortunately ceased production.
Fondest memories were visiting the Centre in the early 2000s with my family. It was staffed by volunteers and enthusiasts and held many historically significant Ford models throughout two floors. There were interactive displays and some of my personal highlights included the design studio with clay models and several full-size cutaways of vehicles that showed what’s behind the panels and how things work. The vehicle exhibit was regularly refreshed and there was always something interesting to see, including race cars, vintage cars, important cars in history or the latest model at the time.
A drop in visitor numbers and financial viability concerns meant that the Ford Discovery Centre shut its doors in 2012, after an estimated total of 250,000 visitors over 13 years.
There were some interesting Ford concept cars on display at the Ford Discovery Centre and below were three of my favourites.
Ford Falcon EA GT 351
Only one Falcon EA GT was built as a concept car in 1990. Ford Australia’s engineers revived the GT badge that hadn’t been seen since the XB from the mid-1970s. The car was powered by a 5.8 litre (351 cubic inch) Windsor V8, prepared by Roush Engineering and had an estimated output of 300hp or 223kW. Interestingly, the 351 badging on the doors referred to the cubic inch capacity of the engine, a nod to the GTs of old. Later model performance Falcons instead received badges referring to the kilowatt output of the engine. The EA GT drove through a five-speed manual transmission and was equipped with a limited slip differential. It also had a race prepared suspension and power assisted four-wheel disc brakes. This all helped to achieve a 0-100 km/h time in 7.3 seconds.
The EA GT project was unfortunately axed before the car reached production. The main concern was a cramped engine bay that didn’t allow for adequate engine cooling. The cost of bringing a totally new engine to the EA production line for a single, expensive, low volume model, sadly could not be justified. The project however ultimately led to the official revival of the GT badge on the 1992 EB Falcon GT. After years of neglect, the EA GT prototype was restored in 1999 by students at the Gordon Institute of TAFE in Geelong.
Ford Falcon EL XR8 Sequential
In the late 1990s, the Falcon EL XR8 Sequential concept was constructed by Tickford, Ford Australia’s high-performance partner. It was powered by a 5.0 litre Windsor V8 that produced roughly 200kW, 15kW more than the contemporary EL XR8 and similar power to the EL GT. The car was painted in a paint called ‘Mexican Fire’ that responded to lighting changes by transforming from glowing gold to carmine red through a spectrum of purple and green. Other highlights were Recaro style seats trimmed by Roman Auto-Tek in aniline leather and a Harrop engineered and built sequential shift transmission, not used in any other Falcons of the time. The XR8 Sequential also received upgraded brakes, multi adjustment shock absorbers with progressive damping, 19-inch alloy wheels and twin bonnet scoops. The concept served as a successful technological showcase for Harrop and Tickford.
Ford Falcon EL Predator
One concept Falcon EL Predator was built in the late 1990s. Tickford worked with Ford to modify an LPG fed Falcon Futura model. The car was powered by a 4.0 litre OHC in line six-cylinder engine with an aluminium alloy head, based off the XR6 model, with the addition of a supercharger. Centrifugal Air Pumps Australia (CAPA Performance) supplied the supercharger, and the result was an engine with very respectable for the time outputs of 230kW and 468Nm. The Predator also received a Gas Research throttle body, large capacity oil cooler, carbon fiber inlet ducts and upper inlet manifold and twin exhausts with Genie extractors. A BTRE four speed automatic transmission was used to handle the high torque output from the engine. The car also received a Dana glass graphite driveshaft and BTRE Hydratrak rear axle. Exterior wise, the Predator featured unique Orange Copper paintwork and 18-inch alloy wheels. The interior didn’t disappoint with a retrimmed Momo-leather interior and upgraded sound system.
Photos taken by the author at the Ford Discovery Centre
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