The Ford FG XR8 often gets referred to as a muscle car – that must make this XR6 Turbo something pretty close to a dancer. As with the XR8, the XR6 carries over from the FPV model the essentially identical fundamental engine components. In the XR6 turbo this means 270kW and 533Nm – 13Nm more than the new XR8 – but most importantly it’s the way that the XR6 turbo delivers that torque that makes the difference. This is probably the only instance when turbo spool up time improves the driving experience.

Basically, the six pot engine in the XR6 shifts 4.0 litres, ensuring that as soon as you strike the throttle, even in situations sans turbo, there immediately kicks in a fair whack of acceleration. With this model, the extra time it takes for the turbo to stick the boot in an spool up to its furthest extreme of pumping ability results in the tyres enjoying extra time in which to grasp at the tarmac before the additional torque kicks in and steals them away and off. It is still a delicate dance playing with the throttle, since once 2000rpm is struck and surmounted, it becomes a waiting game for the back rubber to lose its grip on the road surface once more.

Not that I would advocate its implementation by all drivers, but it is worth mentioning that when one switches off the stability control the XR6 becomes a different car. With stability control enabled, the power delivery is stunted by engine management and the brakes, meaning that steering, braking and accelerating input are all bizarrely irregular and hard to predict. One can only ascribe this state of affairs to our societal preoccupation with health and safety, and the consequent imperative felt by carmakers to produce vehicles in which a blind chimpanzee on hallucinogens could happily navigate the Monaco Grand Prix.

What gives this XR6 model a healthy leg-up on the old XR8 is that the designers have removed something of the beef out of the front of the nose, rendering it more receptive to shifting directions. The XR6, in contrast to the XR8, combines both solid engine performance with passably light heft, the two of which together contribute to its preternaturally superior balance on the road. A plausible analogy might be the comparison between martial arts and sumo wrestling. The sumo champ has girth and mass weighing him down, impeding his ease of movement and speed; the kung fu black belt, on the other hand, is light and nimble, shifts direction quickly and dances around as if on a bed of air. That latter is this XR6 Turbo.

The oddest aspect of driving the XR8 is that you find yourself leaving the gearbox mainly in auto mode; with the XR6, however, I felt a stronger and more visceral connection between myself and the car, and as a result felt happier in bringing the sequential sports shift into play. Ford’s PR people stuck their heads over the parapet and declared sweepingly that those of a technical bent, for which read geeks and nerds, prefer the turbo in comparison to the other models – I suppose that by that metric, I’m something like a cross between Einstein and Hawking. I’ll live with that.

Specifications:
• Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder, 24 valve
• Power: 195KkW @ 6000rpm
• Torque: 391Nm @ 3250rpm
• Transmission: six-speed automatic with sequential sport shift
• Driven Wheels: rear
• Brakes: ventilated disc (f), solid disc (r)
• Top Speed: not tested
• 0-100km/h: not tested
• CO2 Emissions: TBC
• Fuel Consumption: 10.1L/100km (ADR)
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 68 litres
• Fuel Type: petrol
• ANCAP Rating: five-star
• Airbags: driver and passenger front and side
• Safety: DSC with TC and EBA, ABS, EBD
• Spare Wheel: 17 inch temporary
• Suspension: Virtual pivot control link (f), control blade independent (r)
• Cargo Capacity: 535 litres
• Tow Capacity: 2300kg (automatic, braked)
• Turning Circle: 11m
• Warranty: three year / 100,000km
• Weight: 1694kg
• Wheels: 17 inch alloys