Last Falcon ute going to auction
Burns & Co. Auctions have landed a rare and very collectable piece of Ford’s Australian history for their next auction. As part of the three-night ‘Muscle, Classics & Motoring Auction’ that runs from 31 August to 2 September, 2026, Burns & Co. will offer the last saleable Falcon ute built by Ford Australia before local manufacturing operations closed in 2016.
While Ford Australia kept the very last locally built Falcon sedan, Falcon ute and Territory SUV for their Heritage Collection, the preceding examples of each model were sold at a special, invitation-only auction event held soon after local manufacturing ended on 7 October, 2016. What was known as the ‘Final4’ auction back then saw the last publicly-available Falcon sedan, Falcon ute, Falcon XR6 Sprint sedan and Territory SUV offered as part of a special event. The four vehicles sold for a combined $353,000, with proceeds going to two separate charitable foundations.
The ute in the Final4 auction was an FG X XR6 Turbo finished in Smoke (grey) metallic paint, with a black cloth and leather-accented interior. Built at Ford Australia’s Broadmeadows plant on 29 July, 2016, the XR6 Turbo featured the stock ‘Barra 270T’ drivetrain - a turbocharged 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine producing 270kW and 533Nm, matched to a six-speed manual transmission. Sports suspension, performance disc brakes and 19-inch alloy wheels were other standard features on this ute.
Brief service in Ford’s press fleet after it rolled off the assembly line meant this ute had 3,298km on the odometer when it went to the Final4 auction in 2016. Bidding opened at $50,000 and ultimately reached $81,000 before the hammer fell. The successful bidder at that auction, ‘John,’ also purchased the last XR6 Sprint sedan and is the ute’s vendor for the Burns & Co. auction.
“It was quite a significant day for Ford Motor Company. It was the last of the last of the last,” John recalled of the 2016 auction.
Speaking on the vehicle itself, John added: “Instead of just building a ute, they built a turbo manual ute, which is pretty rare. That made it pretty significant in a lot of ways.
“It’s a very significant part of Australian motoring history. It’s pretty damn special.”
Recognising the significance of this vehicle, John never personally drove it, with only 42km added under his ownership before it was consigned for the Burns & Co auction. The last publicly-available Falcon ute built by Ford Australia now has an odometer reading of 3,340km.
As offered, this Falcon XR6 Turbo ute presents in near-new condition, with the paint and interior as you’d expect on such a low-mileage, well cared-for vehicle. The interior looks like new, as does the engine bay. A special feature in the engine bay is a plaque on the Barra turbo six that states ‘Final Saleable Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute. Build Number: 439,741’.
The underbody would benefit from some detailing but is undamaged, while the ute’s tub appears to have never been used. Undercover storage in John’s ownership means the ute is virtually unchanged from the condition he received it in almost a decade ago. John explains that the only reason he is selling the ute is because he longer has the storage space to keep it in the condition that such an important vehicle requires: “I’ve had my enjoyment out of owning it, and now somebody else can enjoy it.”
To be offered on Night 1 of the Burns & Co. Muscle, Classics & Motoring Auction, the last saleable, standard specification Falcon XR6 Turbo ute includes a Certificate of Authenticity from Ford Australia, the owner’s manual, the customer assistance, warranty and service guide, a manual for the Sync infotainment system and other paperwork.
Pre-bidding on this ute had already reached more than $40,000 at time of writing, ahead of the auction that gets underway from 6:00pm AEST on Monday, 31 August, 2026.
For more details of this very significant Australian-made vehicle, click HERE
