It goes without saying that Leno bought the car, then became friends with its former owner and builder. Fitted with Hella rally lights and a “1963 Monte Carlo Rally” window sticker, the car looks like it came straight from a time-machine-equipped garage. In current trim, the car produces around 360 horsepower, which is plenty to provide solid entertainment.Ī “Monte Carlo brace” (what we’d call a strut tower brace) was added to reduce chassis flex, the battery was moved to the trunk for better weight distribution and the car sports period-correct aftermarket gauges. The original 260 V-8 was pulled in favor of a 289 V-8, bored out to 302 cubic inches and mated to a five-speed transmission. While surfing Bring A Trailer, Leno came across a 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint that was built to the same specs Leno would have used. Despite this, the car was campaigned with some success in World Rally competition, with relatively few modifications from stock form. While billed as a “performance car,” the Falcon Sprint’s performance would be relatively modest by today’s standards. Following the time honored recipe of a”big engine, small car,” the Ford Falcon Sprint tucked a 260-cubic-inch Ford V-8 between the front fenders of the compact Falcon. We’re sure he appreciates driving his McLaren MP4-12C, or his Lamborghini Muira, but Leno’s “one that got away” had much more humble beginnings.įrom his time as a lot boy at a Ford dealership, Leno grew to love the 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint. This car looks sweet enough regardless of which bucket you drop it into.While most of us lust after the more exotic cars in Jay Leno’s collection, the comedian himself has a broader range of automotive interests. Extra nice Futura’s seem to top out at $20,000, according to Hagerty, and a Futura Sprint is likely $5,000 higher. Factoring in the mid-year Sprint, another 10,500 cars would have to be merged into the tally. The car is said to run great, which we hardly doubt since the seller seems to be a car guy (check out the sweet ’55 and ’57 Chevies in his garage).įutura 2-door hardtops built-in 1963 added up to 28,500 units. Factory air conditioning is part of the package (under-dash units were used prior to in-dash) and a set of traction bars are said to be underneath the car. This Falcon, at 89,00 miles, comes with an automatic transmission which – if true to the model year – would be Ford’s 2-speed edition. Instead of a 260 V8, a later model 302 sits its place and looks to have been tricked out a bit, although an aftermarket distributor is about all we can see under the hood. This garage-kept machine is said to be 90 percent original, which likely means the other 10 percent is in the motor. The aftermarket mag wheels are a nice addition and even wear a good set of tires. As a Sprint, it would fetch higher dollars on today’s collector market, largely because of the 164 hp motor.įinished in shiny black paint with a red interior, the seller’s Futura is quite sharp. What we’re unsure about is if the seller’s car is a Sprint as the seller mentions the 1963 ½ roll-out, but doesn’t actually refer to it as a Sprint in his ad. Midway through 1963, Ford rolled out the Futura Sprint, which brought a V8 engine to the Falcon for the first time. The sportier, fancier version of the Ford Falcon was the Futura, like the seller’s car. Defense Secretary, first under JFK and then LBJ. The “Father of the Falcon” within Ford was none other than Robert McNamara, who left the company shortly thereafter to go into politics, namely U.S. Besides a variety of car body styles, the Falcon platform also hosted the Ranchero, which was downsized when it moved over in 1960. But the Maverick came along in 1969 and took its place, so the last model year was spent as a dressed-down Torino in mid-size garb. Except for its last year, it was Ford’s leading compact. Hats off to Larry D for bringing this tip our way!įord’s Falcon would stick around for three generations from 1960-70. This Futura is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and being offered for $24,500 here on Facebook Marketplace. It checked off almost all the boxes that the early Mustangs would, except that it wore more conservative styling. As a sneak preview of sorts for the Mustang in 1964, Ford rolled out the Futura Sprint with a small-block V8, dubbed a 1963 ½ model. Second, its platform would launch several other successful cars, especially the Mustang which was an even bigger hit and created a whole new market sector. The Falcon was important for two reasons: First, was it was Ford’s first entry into the compact car market and did it quite successfully.
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