- And just remember, you saw it here first thanks to our avid Falcon spy photographer 'Miljan'. And with the Monaro slated for later this year (2001) it finally seems Ford will be ahead of Holden in offering these two sexy creatures by mid September, our sources tell us. How Ford kept it all so tight lipped we will never know - but it could have been something to do with the dies being manufactured in Germany by a company who thought it was working on the next model Mercedes. Apparently all development work was carried out in a secret test facility up in Darwin where the sun never ceases to shine - with fully masked versions (rumour says they wore Mercedes grills and bonnets!) being shipped over to Tickford's UK head quarters for wet weather evaluation. Our source from within Fords also tell us that the mill destined for the still born 300+ is to make it's way under the TS50 version's bonnet - so Ford fans, you can begin the party now!...
Naaaahhhh - life could never be that good - but we're allowed to dream aren't we (and I bet the people at Tickford are creaming themselves right about now)? Thanks to Miljan who sent in these great pictures - we can all get to appreciate another great "what if". Perhaps a project for the Hillier Bros (who's gunna be the first to lay their money on the line?) these convertibles look as factory as you're going to get. Starting with Tickfords own promotional shots for the AU series 2 XR8, Miljan instantly dropped it to where all good cars should ride - in the weeds!
This was followed by the subtle lengthening of the front doors and welding up of the rears - with the obligatory roof chop next on the long list of modifications. Fattening the rear quarters, Miljan successfully brings back the bulged rear guards of the legendary XA - XC Coupes which work well with the new Coke-bottled window line and the boot lid's natural tendency to flow upwards.
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Spot the difference: It's not much but it makes an interesting difference between these two images of a TS50 cabrio!
Not content with that, he decided to do the same to a couple pictures of Tickford's top shelf TS50 - trying out a couple other experiments along the way. Like the relocated front blinkers (ala the European Ford Focus). Did you pick it? Thanks Miljan for your work, and we look forward to seeing your next piece of work...