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The Features Of The Falcon F7
The Falcon F7 appeared on the market in 2012 at the North American Autoshow in Detroit. Little did Lemke know that his creation would become the talk of the show. With a fresh design that was a little bit of Ford’s GT, a tweak of Ferrari’s 288 GTO, and a smidge of Corvette, Lemke described the new Falcon as a cocktail of the cars he loved. The car was a very limited production car (mainly because Lemke was such a perfectionist). Only seven units were made. One was destroyed, and the remaining six are owned by private collectors worldwide.
Exterior
The FF7 had an aggressive stance when it hugged the road, with a low front aero curtain and wide inlets to help keep the large V8 cooled. Upturned-angled headlights give the front fascia a tiger-like appearance. The windshield is reminiscent of the ‘05 Ford GT40 (although it is a bit leaner), but it angles back to provide excellent aerodynamics.
The rear is just as attractive, with large dual exhaust pipes emerging from the center, bookended by dual round LED taillights on either side. The car’s rear stands slightly higher than the front, like a Corvette, and you get the feel that this is a fast, no, very fast car.
The F7 has a monocoque chassis made from aluminum, Kevlar, and plenty of carbon fiber. Car panels were fashioned from carbon fiber, as was much of the interior construction. The result is a car that weighs just 2,784 lbs and flies down the track doing 0-60 in 3.4 seconds (the twin-turbo version with 1100 hp clocked a 2.7 time).
Transmission
All that speed notwithstanding, the F7 was only built with a six-speed manual gearbox, which was more than enough for the supercar to fly through the shift points seamlessly. Other supercars like Lamborghini were implementing 8-speed dual-clutch trannies, but Falcon never saw enough promise to try and copy the gearbox to use.
Engine
The F7 uses a 7.0 L LS7 V8 borrowed from a Corvette engine that has been modified to sit behind the seats. When it first rolled out of the shop (each of the seven units was handmade), the 427 ci V8 produced 620 hp and 585 lb/ft of torque. But subsequent models found Falcon working with Lingenfelder Performance Engineering to add forced induction with a dry oil sump system to increase power. When Lingenfelder was finished, the horsepower more than doubled to over 1100 hp, and the supercar could zip down the road doing 0 - 60 mph in less than 3 seconds.
Falcon boasted that the F7 had a top speed of over 200 mph, which is not hard to believe given the lightweight carbon fiber design.
Interior
The interior was two-toned upholstered leather racing seats. The seat base and back are shaped to fit around the legs and back of the driver and passenger, but they are not as comfortable as other supercars. The seat molding provides excellent support for high-speed maneuvers, but they are built for short bursts of speed and not any kind of longer-distance driving. The steering wheel and other components look cheap, and it is clear that Lemke cared more about the functionality of the cockpit rather than creature comforts.
The interior door panels are made from carbon-fiber, which lends to the lighter weight and helps aid in speed. There is plenty of aluminum trim around the instrumentation gauges and throughout the center console. The driver’s cockpit provides precise instrumentation, although the gauges are under a dash overhang, so they need to be viewed from straight on. (Let’s face it, there is no need for a tilted steering wheel in a car like this). The manual shifter is easy to reach and the various gears are slotted to that there is no mistake when the car is shifted into gear. The aluminum on the dash and center gives the inside a contrasting, polished look.
While the cockpit seems more functional than convenient and comfortable, you wouldn’t expect a supercar to be cushy when it is motoring down the road, pushing a maximum speed of 200 mph.
What Did The Falcon F7 Cost?
Initially, Falcon planned to make ten on the initial production run and offer the F7 to buyers for around $250,000 each for the 620 hp version ($395,000 for the twin-turbo version). Unfortunately, even though the desire was to produce an affordable sportscar that could compete with European supremacy, the result was that the company could never get off the ground.
The last FF7 offered for sale was in March 2021 (a 2014 Red exterior with a Black/Yellow two-tone interior). The supercar was number three of the six remaining F7s, and while there were a few bids during the open auction, there needed to be more action for the car even to make its reserve.
Lemke tried to sweeten the pot during the proposed sale in 2021 by including not just an F7 but also liquidating the molds, tools, blueprints, and other components associated with the Falcon F7. (Supposedly, a buyer could resume the car's production if they wished). However, the car failed to make a reserve ($122,000), which indicates what the value of the car is worth.
In 2018 at the Barrett Jackson auction, a buyer paid $148,500 for a Silver exterior with a red and black interior.
Why Didn’t The Falcon F7 Take Off?
There are several reasons for the car's rarity, but most potential owners didn’t get jazzed by a car that looked like a cheaper Ford GT copy. The car was costly and took forever to be hand-built. (The Ford GT model was $400,000 in 2015 and performed better with more comfortable amenities).
Part of the issue with the Falcon was that it simply needed the backing of a long supercar maker to help buoy it. While the car is very well tuned and runs effectively at a top speed, the company needed the ability to produce more vehicles more quickly, which they simply needed more resources to do.
Is Falcon Still Making F7s?
While Falcon Motor Company still exists, there are no plans currently to add to the production of the seven F7s over a decade ago. (The fact that less than two years ago, the components of the factory were put on the auction block doesn’t bode well for future F7s). (There is always hope for a resurgence, but it doesn’t seem likely). In summary, each car was an individual work of art, and the F7 is a testament to what can happen when an American designer is given free rein to build the kind of car he always wanted to make.
