GT-HO ("Handling Option"[1]) versions were released with the XW and XY Falcon series, with were essentially further modified homologation specials for motor racing.
An XA series HO was abandoned in the early stage of development due to public pressure in 1972 after an infamous newspaper campaign against excessive top speed.
This change led to the GT badge becoming a permanent fixture of the FPV range, with the aim of more closely competing against rival Holden's HSV.
A charcoal interior consisting of unique designed seats that were not available on any other model Falcon, wood-grained steering wheel, dash, and matching gear knob with special Stewart-Warner instrumentation.
[3] A further five units were also finished in a selection of colours at the request of teams to enter them in racing events, with the 1967 Gallaher 500 winning XR GT painted in Ivy Green.
The move forced General Motors-Holden and Chrysler Australia to respond with their own performance editions of their large sedan in 1968 when neither had such vehicles planned, beginning the era of the Australian Falcon GT legend.
With the XW range, the Windsor V8 was now offered in a bigger 351 cubic-inch displacement, producing 290 bhp (216 kW; 294 PS) and 385 lb⋅ft (522 N⋅m) of torque.
Allan Moffat claimed his first Bathurst win at the hands of a Phase II at the 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500, with Bruce McPhee second, giving Ford Works Team a 1 - 2 finish.
Among the visual changes to the normal Falcon range, the XY received the "shaker scoop" ram-air intake from the 1969-70 Mach 1 Mustang.
An XY GT starred in the Australian movie Running on Empty, as a GT-HO Phase III.The homologation specials reached their zenith with the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III in 1971, a car which Allan Moffat used to defeat all opposition in the 1971 Bathurst enduro and remained one of the fastest four-door production sedan in the world, Maserati QP was much faster until the introduction of the Lotus Carlton 19 years later, with a 6-cylinder engine.
The GT received unique front fenders with dummy air vents on the leading edges, and a bonnet featuring NACA-style ducts.
Purchasers were now offered a larger range of colour combinations, with the GT black-outs on the bonnet and lower edges of the car now available in silver.
On Sunday, 25 June 1972, the front page of the Sun-Herald set off a chain of responses from the New South Wales Minister for Transport, Milton Morris, who called for the ban of these supercars just three days after the news article.
Group C allowed modified versions of road cars to compete, removing the need for manufactures to develop road-going race specials.
The XB GT received a new aggressive front end with a twin nostril bonnet, similar to the style found on the '71-'73 Mach 1 Mustang.
These GTs represented, for the first time, a shift from extreme performance to a refined grand tourer vehicle, as highlighted by their interiors based on the luxury-oriented Fairmont Ghia models.
The FPV model range generally comprised the base GT (whose subsequent derivative GS justified the absence of a Falcon XR8), higher performance and specification GT-P.