Orion on track

Ford Australia has kicked off the drip-feed of official information (and images) of the new generation Falcon in a particularly elegant manner. Presenting its new Research and Development Centre, revised production and proving ground facilities in and around Geelong to the Australian media yesterday, the company also provided sneak peeks (and official photos or disguised cars) at a number of aspects of the upcoming car, code-named 'Orion'.

Pre-production build of Ford's new large car is well under way, with Ford utilising its new latest production upgrade dubbed 'Press Line 21' for one-piece body side panel pressing for the new car. The one-piece operation was introduced in Australia by Mitsubishi for the production of the 380, but is a first locally for Ford.

The new facility was busy pressing door skins and other Orion parts when the media toured the facility sans cameras yesterday.

In plain view were unadorned complete body side pressings for the new car in both sedan and utility form. Also on show was the sedan's new glass house complete with BMW-style kinked C-pillar. Courtesy of the door skins, the new car's abbreviated window glass and high, rising beltline were easily discernible.

The official photos hereabouts show camouflaged sedan and ute variants of Orion. We can confirm that the over-sized door moldings hide very clean Mondeo-style flanks on the production car.

The cars shown were photographed undergoing testing at the company's You Yangs facility.

Ford's recent developments at the centre include: a semi-anechoic chamber for controlled NVH testing; an enlarged Vehicle Dynamics Area; revised emissions test cell infrastructure; and a new dynamoter based high-speed validation rig that uses robot 'drivers' to rack up tens of thousands of kilometers.

In addition, Ford's joint venture with Melbourne University, Advanced Centre for Automotive Research and Testing (ACART), will soon commission its new environmental wind tunnel at the proving ground. Once completed, this facility will feature a test cell in capable of temperatures from -40 to +55 degrees and with wind speeds up to 250km/h.   

Back on the Orion, Ford Australia Vice President Product Development, Trevor Worthington, says many of the new the facilities have been employed in the development of the car which will be the eighth-generation Falcon.

On the subject of the car itself, he says, much of the final testing is complete – although the number of camouflaged prototypes rolling in and out of the test facilities south west of Melbourne would indicate there's still work to be done.

Ford will not comment officially on the launch of the car, other to say it is "on track." The first media briefings will take place on February 6, though it is unlikely that information will be cleared for release to the public until later in February.

Speculation is still rife as to whether the car will debut at the Melbourne Motor Show or at a stand alone event.

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