If you want evidence of the divergent paths that stock car racing took in the United States and Australia, the Ford FG Falcon V8 Supercar is a good place to start. First of all, unlike its American counterparts, under the livery is a legitimate production FG Falcon bodyshell, with some modification to incorporate some safety equipment and to even the field with rival VE Commodores. Likewise, the road-going FG Falcon is rear-wheel drive, another commonality. From there, however, things diverge. There’s the 600-plus horsepower 5-liter race engine, competition-specific sequential transmission, and racing brakes. All FG Falcon V8 Supercars are capable of exceptional performance, but a quick drive without traction aids should give you a firm respect for the skill of the drivers in this series—the extreme performance is due to the cars being on the knife-edge of their performance envelope, and it takes some serious driving to get the most out of them without overdoing it. That being said, the FG Falcon is a strong competitor in a type of stock car racing that is truly an Australian original.
