Ford introduced the Sapphire shortly after Holden debuted the VT Commodore in September 1997, in a bid to make the EL more competitive. The name was reused from the Ford Sierra Sapphire sedan sold in Europe and New Zealand. It was a limited edition model and had two variants based on either the GLi or the Futura, fitted with additional features, however the list differed depending on the base model chosen. All Sapphires had alloy wheels and metallic paint as standard. Other responses to the VT Commodore were the Classic and Falcon S models. Similarly to the Sapphire, they too were limited edition variants based on either the GLi or Futura. Standard for the Falcon S included a six-stack CD player, air conditioning, and alloy wheels which were identical to those fitted to the XR6 and XR8 models of the earlier ED Falcon range. Later, in March 1998, just before the launch of the AU Falcon, a Sapphire II was introduced.