THE SONOMA COUNTY FALCONS FOR FUN CHAPTER
THE 1962 ‘SPORTS’ FUTURA
The Sports Futura appeared on the mid-year version of the Ford Falcon sales brochure in 1962.
Like the Sprints that were produced a year later, the 1962 Sports Futura was a mid-year model. The Sports Futura was produced by Lee Iacocca and his pals as a Corvair fighter.
The Ford execs became agitated with the introduction of the sporty Corvair Monzas in 1961. The Corvairs had bucket seat interiors, four speed trannys, and a sporty image. Total Falcon production in 1961 was 558,427 which was an increase of about 20% over 1960 production. Corvair production increased 32% over 1960 to 329, 632 total units.
This '62 Sports Futura is owned by Alisha Aiello. The Torreador Red is a more current Ford color offering. Rangoon red was offered in '62. The '63 wire hubcaps are incorrect for the car (but still look cool!)....photo by Al Aiello
The Ford brass had to come up with something before the introduction of the "cooking" Sprints with their V-8 motors. Enter the 1962½ Sports Futura. It was introduced in February of 1962. It was the first Falcon to have the "Thunderbird style" roof. It came standard with bucket seats, center console and upgraded interior trim.
The above photo and
information pertaining to the Sports Futura is included in the 3/62 version of the Falcon
sales brochure. The '62 Sports Futura has a beautiful and well-appointed interior.
Perhaps the biggest new offering with the Sports Futura was a 4 speed transmission that was floor mounted. Unfortunately, we’re not talking Toploader or T-10 here. The four speed all-synhcro transmission was referred to as a "Dagenham". Dagenham is the name of the English city where the transmission was manufactured. The Dagenham was optional and the two speed Ford-O-Matic was the standard tranny. The 170 six was the standard motor.
The original interior of Alisha Aiello's '62 Sports
Futura was in wonderful condition when the car was recently purchased. There wasn't
one tear in the original padded dash or headliner!....photo by Al Aiello
The Sports Futura came standard with unique stainless wheel coverings with ‘Futura’ lettering and red, white and blue stripes. A vinyl roof was listed as an option—the first for a Falcon!
The Falcon’s image changed with this new offering from Ford. All that was needed now was a more powerful motor. That arrived next year.
There were a total of 17,011 Futuras (Model 62 C) produced in 1962. How many are still around would just be a guess. The Sports Futura was the lowest production Falcon (other than the Sedan Delivery) offered in ’62