All-New EcoSport
· The all-new Ford EcoSport has an aerodynamically sculpted, contemporary new look with signature SUV design elements, including a capable stance, a command driving position and a rear-mounted spare tyre
· Ford’s new global design language gives the all-new EcoSport a proud, high-mounted grille and a unique silhouette shaped for fuel efficiency
· The robust design and confident stance of EcoSport complements an outgoing spirit to create unique appeal
NEW DELHI, Jan. 4, 2012 – Mix just the right amount of robust capability and confident stance with a friendly, outgoing spirit. That’s the secret formula for the latest global One Ford product – a unique all-new compact SUV called the Ford EcoSport.
The all-new EcoSport makes its global debut at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, India. The latest global product from Ford gives customers accustomed to compact cars an aspirational alternative that is about driving fun and freedom, compactness and agility and a protective shape that puts them in command of the road.
The new model will eventually be sold in nearly 100 markets around the world. With the road presence of a larger vehicle, it has a hardy character and strong stance yet is an SUV which is more friendly than aggressive.
The all-new EcoSport has a contemporary shape that conveys confidence while combining refinement and an adventurous spirit in an intelligent and modern package. It sports key SUV cues such as a confident stance, command driving position and signature spare wheel mounted on a swing-gate at the rear of the vehicle.
“EcoSport has a tough, robust attitude that says ‘I can play with the big boys’,” said J Mays, group vice president, Design, and chief creative officer, Ford Motor Company. “But it also makes you want to play. It’s friendly and sociable, and this unique mix is its secret formula. That’s why it is so appealing. EcoSport is perfect for crowded urban streets and it inspires you to seek adventure away from the city too.”
Its footprint is small enough for the city, yet it's strong and rugged enough for trips to the mountains or countryside.
Shaped for global appeal
Ford believes that this combination of attributes will make the all-new EcoSport as appealing in growth markets like India and Brazil as the first-generation model was in South America following its launch in 2003.
New EcoSport has a completely modern look, shaped by Ford’s new global design language, aerodynamic honing for fuel efficiency, a short, raked hood and distinctive profile. It combines the agility and practicality of a compact car with high ground clearance, a command driving position and integrated lower body cladding for robustness.
A wide hood sweeps into sculpted bodylines, conveying kineticism and refined surface language that suggests honed strength and a dynamic spirit of energy in motion.
Modern, oblique headlamps frame a high-mounted trapezoidal grille which gives the vehicle an element of pride and a signature Ford face.
The windshield is steeply raked, and blacked out B-pillars unify the side glass into one elegant shape, conveying a clean, modern profile, complementing a shape honed in the wind tunnel for efficiency.
The rear of the vehicle features a large rear window which wraps around to the sides along with distinctive taillights. A signature feature is the spare tyre attached to a swing-out door signaling EcoSport’s practicality and spirit for adventures off the beaten path.
The exterior design is the first aspect of the all-new EcoSport to be previewed by Ford. More EcoSport details will be released in the coming months.
Mays said customers can expect the interior of the vehicle to feature the same high levels of craftsmanship, material quality and quiet isolation from noise that have been central elements in other new-generation global products now offered by Ford.
“The expressive exterior of this all-new new vehicle with its distinctive compact SUV character creates some very strong expectations for what you’ll see in the interior,” Mays said. “When we reveal the interior of the new EcoSport, it will be just as expressive and well-crafted as the exterior. It’s a very important part of the inviting spirit of EcoSport.”
First One Ford global product design in South America
The all-new Ford EcoSport is the first One Ford product to be designed and developed in South America by a global team, marking that region’s increasing importance in Ford’s worldwide product development system.
The creativity behind the new EcoSport was sparked in Brazil, a nation dominated by compact cars which has become one of the world’s key emerging markets. The design center in Camaçari, Brazil, is now part of a global network of Ford design studios collaborating on new global products.
“EcoSport really shows our commitment to developing our design centres to create global products around the world,” Mays said. “The way these studios work together has shown that we can produce great design no matter where the studio is, and having designers based in an emerging, compact-car market obviously helps make our new products like EcoSport stand out.”
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