Tickford logo
Bruce Newton19 Sept 2016
NEWS

Tickford to return with hot Fords

Blue Oval Supercars team confirms Ranger will lead roll-out of born-again Tickford-badged performance vehicle range

Tickford has been confirmed as the name of a new Ford-focussed road car tuning business that will be launched in Bathurst 1000 week by the leading Supercars racing team, Prodrive Racing Australia (PRA).

PRA revealed a new Tickford logo on a new Facebook page late last week, when it also revived the brand name’s slogan: “Performance driven by passion”.

The plan is for Tickford, which is the marketing name of a new division of the racing team registered as PRA Garage, to develop performance versions of most models in the Ford range.

Tuning work will include both engine and chassis, as well as delivering exterior and interior styling enhancements. Development work is being done in-house and through suppliers here and overseas. Bosch Australian has been contracted to test modifications to an OEM level.

The badge will first adorn a hot Ford Ranger that will be on sale before the end of the year, with a tuned Mustang to follow soon after. A Tickford Everest is expected in the first half of 2017.

The Ranger’s five-cylinder 3.2-litre turbo-diesel engine is expected to receive a power boost of about 20 per cent to around 180kW. Chassis tuning will include the Australian Supashock dampers – which PRA uses in its Ford Falcon Supercars.

PRA CEO Tim Edwards told motoring.com.au Tickford would be a different proposition to other well-known Ford tuners, because of the bespoke engineering development it intends to put into its vehicles.

“We don’t want to be another person just bolting on other people’s parts,” Edwards said. “It’s about developing new and unique products for the Tickford business.

“There are a lot of people out there playing that space -- bolting on Ford Performance parts -- and that’s not our objective or our business model.

“Yes we can do that, but that’s not our focus at the moment, it’s about developing new and unique parts that are Tickford parts.”

Edwards wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics of the Tickford performance boosts, but played down the prospects of going head-to-head with the likes of Roush Performance and Herrod Motorsport by offering a supercharged 500kW version of the Mustang GT, which Ford Australia itself is also planning on selling via its official dealer network.

“I don’t want to get into specifics about what we are doing with the cars at the moment, because we are not at the point of announcing that,” Edwards said.

“But the brands you are talking about are all fitting a common part -- there is nothing unique and new about what they are doing -- so if we just do that then we are just competing with them.

“That is why we are looking to do things a little differently. We don’t want to go into competition with them. We will leave them playing in that space and we will develop Tickford products.”

Edwards said the different focus of Tickford was emphasised by its decision to develop a Ranger ahead of a Mustang.

“We are not taking on any of those companies you mentioned with Ranger because they are not playing in that space,” he said. “We are more appealing to the masses than that niche portion of the market.

“There is an opportunity with Ranger. There are a lot of things that can be done to that vehicle. It sells in fantastic volumes and not everyone wants to take it to the real off-road specialists to have it personalised.

‘We don’t want to make it a mud-spitting, jacked-up design specifically for going to the tip of Australia. We want to personalise it, give it a different look and feel.”

Edwards said its close association with the Ford brand made PRA’s expansion into road vehicles a logical move.

“The fact is we still have a lot of close links with the Ford dealer network and the Ford fans and the Ford customers. The number of people who ask us when we are going to do something means there is definitely an opportunity there.

“As with any business you are always looking at ways to expand and diversify. We are not blinkered that we are only going to go motor racing.”

By claiming the Tickford name and using it to badge production vehicles, PRA has essentially gone back to the future and taken control of its own predecessor.

The Tickford name first gained prominence in Australia in 1991 when what was then known as Tickford Vehicle Engineering started developing performance models for Ford Australia.

Public exposure reached its high-point when the Ford Tickford Experience (FTE) was launched in 1999 with a fleet of performance models intended to rival Holden Special Vehicles. Tickford also managed Ford’s factory V8 Supercars campaign.

But in 2002, after Tickford was taken over by rival British firm Prodrive, a new joint-venture was set up with Ford Australia as Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), with Ford Performance Racing (FPR) becoming the factory racing team.

Ownership of the Tickford name changed hands several times in subsequent years, but had no direct involvement in above-the-line automotive development or branding.

Meanwhile, Ford closed FPV in 2014 and FPR became PRA in 2015, with a group of motor racing identities led by Melbourne businessman Rod Nash taking over the team. It lost its Ford factory backing for the 2016 but retains close links with the Blue Oval brand. Planning for PRA Garage and the revival of Tickford began two years ago.

“Really for us Tickford was the logical thing,” said Edwards. “We are almost the direct descendant. The race team was born out of FPV, which was born out of Tickford.

“So for us it’s almost like going back full circle to where it all began. It’s a bit like putting the band back together.”

“Ironically, I now have people who were working for Tickford who have come back working for us again. At last count we have four staff from that old business.”

Among them is PRA Garage boss Tony Harris, who returned from Walkinshaw Performance Products last February but had been at FPV before that.

Ford Australia has no involvement in the revival of Tickford and the involvement of the Ford dealer network is currently being negotiated.

But there is some involvement from Ford internationally, as parts and accessories are being developed by PRA Garage in conjunction with Ford Asia Pacific to supply to the regional licensed accessories program.

Separately, PRA Garage has been appointed an official wholesaler and retailer of the global Ford Performance Parts catalogue.

Three stand-alone PRA Garage modification centres and showrooms are to be established in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane by early 2017 to cater for customers.

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