Archived · Classic Cars · 2 min read
Unique Cars and Parts: Ford Fairlane and LTD
by Sandy Mercer The LTD was launched as Fords new flagship model, replacing versions of the imported U.S. Galaxie. It marked a bold initiative by…
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Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2004-12-09.
by Sandy Mercer
The LTD was launched as Fords new flagship model, replacing versions of the imported U.S. Galaxie. It marked a bold initiative by Ford, determined to capture the local top of the range market and become the mainstream luxury limousine of choice for government and business.
Happy to alter the basic structure of Falcon/Fairlane and obsorb the cost in the pursuit of market share, the LTD represented a stretching of the chassis, acquiring more length most noticeably in the rear doors and roof.
Interior appointments were of the finest that could be fitted, and so well-equipped were the cars that the options list was almost negligible.
Most people assume that the LTD name was derived, as for the U.S. equivalent, from the term Limited, in fact it stands for Lincoln Type Design and was a measure of Ford Australias aspirations for the car. Once again, a two letter code was used to differentiate the models.
It is immediately apparent that although the basic form of the car is based on the XA/XB Falcon and the ZF/ZG Fairlane, Ford made efforts to move the LTD upmarket, both in scale and style.
The car featured a distinctive grille with head lamps hidden behind vacumn operated doors. Tail lamps appeared full width at the rear, but design regulations prevented them from being sequential in operation, and the wheel trims, while proving to be vulnerable, added to the impression of style.
Being released in August, 1973, some months before the XB GT Falcon, the LTD also has the distinction of introducing four wheel disk brakes onto the local Australian market.
While officially titled the FA, the first LTD was also known as the P5.
The FA was manufactured between August 1973 and September 1976. 7003 were produced.
