A short time before the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo, Australian motoring enthusiasts were shocked and angered with the treatment the new Chrysler, Holden and Ford cars for the race were getting from the daily press.
The Chrysler Charger V8, the Holden Torana V8 and the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 4 were set upon in editorials and articles, the journalists responsible (or perhaps irresponsible), applying the descriptive phrase "supercar" to the new cars and making very loud noises about how these "supercars" could all top 160 mph in road trim, and how, with homologation regulations requiring 200 of each to be built, a lot of the general public would certainly be either killed or injured if they were ever allowed to drive them.
A lot of newsprint was dedicated to the cause of ensuring these cars were never built, and unfortunately for the manufacturers and motor sport followers, the average man-in-the-street believes what he reads in newspapers and
it didn't take very long for general public opinion to swing against the cars.
The Government decided that all these "supercars" would not do at all, the legislation must be passed, that the carnage on the road was bad ,enough as it was. According to some reports they even went as far as threatening to stop Government contracts for fleet vehicles if one or any of the manufacturers didn't drop the cars at once.
The manufacturers had no choice; they had to stop development of the cars as the threatened loss of Government contracts meant a huge loss of sales, plus, of course, any public reaction - and after all, what are car makers in business for?
It seems the moral of this story is "the pen is mightier than the Ford", but it was all so ridiculous.
The Phase Four was to have even further engine work done, as well as further refinements in the suspension department.
An extra 40 horsepower in street trim alone was claimed and potential of the machine in track form was enormous.
Unfortunately the Supercar furore put an end to all that and Ford quickly went about stretching the Phase Three's life for another season while Holden added a 202 engine to the XU1 to turn that into a winner.
