2025 Ford Falcon Hardtop Tasmania Tour

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1970s' Aussie Ford hardtops as far as the eye could see!  Well, almost.  Saturday the 22nd of March’s Hardtop Anniversary Tour display on the lawns of Parliament House in Hobart, Tasmania, was certainly the biggest assembly of two-door XA, XB and XC Falcons and Fairmonts, and P5 LTDs that I've ever witnessed.  What a glorious sight!


According to my mate, Nick - whose gold XB GS was part of the display and can be found via this link: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2020/01/1976-xb-falcon-gs-hardtop-reminiscence.html - there were 157 hardtops present, including 17 John Goss Specials (my personal fave, especially in Horn Car guise!), 17 Landaus, several Cobras, plus numerous XA and XB GTs, GSs and other variants built between 1972 and 1978.  


They came from every state and territory of Australia, converging on Tasmania to participate in the 2025 running of the annual event that celebrates the famous 1977 Bathurst 1000 "one - two finish" which saw Alan Moffat take line honours ahead of Colin Bond (https://youtu.be/wCU2yAI-hAE?si=SG1owDoc-yK4SxNX) who, until team strategy dictated otherwise, was leading the race.  Both cars headed towards the chequered flag nose-to-nose, until Bond dropped back, allowing lead driver and team owner Moffat to claim first place.  Bond is universally considered to be a true sportsman.  





John Goss Special owners were no doubt thrilled to have the very man for whom their cars were named, legendary racing driver John Goss, OAM - winner of the Bathurst 1000 in 1974 and 1985, and 1976's Australian Grand Prix - in attendance.  His presence was doubly apt, celebrating his link to the iconic hardtop and being a return to Tasmania where he spent his childhood and began his racing career before heading to the mainland to pursue motorsport full-time.  

John Goss, fellow hardtop racer Jim Keogh and Tasmanian motorsport Hall of Famer, Targa competitor and motoring journalist Barry Oliver at the Tour dinner.  Photo courtesy of Nick. 



You know you're at a good gig when the music speaks to you!  The Landau might be the luxo-barge version of the hardtop range, but there was no hoity toity when it came to the music being played by the owner of the blue beauty shown above:  Smoke on the Water, followed up by a bit of AC/DC!  I could've - would've! - sat down for a listen if there weren't another 156 cars still to lust over ... .  





This immaculate Tasmanian-registered John Goss Special (JGS) is the car that awakened my particular interest in the model and, more specifically, introduced me to "dealer specials."  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a dealer special was a tricked-up, limited edition example of an existing product - in this case, a JGS - featuring factory-approved post-production enhancements.  For more pics of this specific vehicle, and an expanded explanation of what a limited edition Horn Car is, please see: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2024/03/classics-by-beach-march-2024.html.       








I'm credibly informed that this XC wasn't originally an actual racing car but was used by the Moffat Ford Dealer team in some capacity.  After it was retired from that role, it was apparently bought by a team mechanic and modified to race-spec, as you see here.  The livery is that of Bond's 1977 "one - two finish" XC. 







This is why the Parliament House lawns are a rubbish place to take photos!  Too much contrast between the shaded and sun-lit areas.


Ditto.



Did you enjoy this article?  If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site?  There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance vehicles featured, as well as stacks of car shows and motorsports events.  Even better, you can follow either the 'blog itself or do so via Upper Middle Petrol Head's Facebook page.  And please do like and share!





U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

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