Ford Start Concept breaks cover

[Jason[98.EL]]

Taken from carpoint

Ford Start Concept breaks cover

The Blue Oval's latest concept car hints at a brand new sub-compact model to take on the Fiat 500
Ford has taken the wraps off a new concept design at the Beijing International motor show, the Start Concept, which provides an early look at the company's next generation sub-compact city car.

The Blue Oval's next generation global city car (and possible successor to the Ford Ka) will take on the likes of the Fiat 500 in a slot below the Fiesta, which has been a huge success for Ford.

Powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder "near-production" EcoBoost engine, Ford expects the new vehicle to discharge less than 100g/km of CO2, which would make it almost as green as the Toyota Prius and Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

The design of the Start Concept is fairly low-key, with similarities to the Audi A1, although featuring fewer angles and more curves. It could be argued that the design treads a fine line between retro and contemporary styles.

"We didn't set out to design some sort of utilitarian concept to save the world, nor were we interested in following the competitive trend toward an overly noisy design language," said Ford's design guru J Mays.

Designed for the world's largest mega-cities, the Ford Start Concept's C-pillar is ultra-thin, creating a large expanse of glass that will improve rearward vision.

Ford's designers have taken to the interior with a similar mindset, creating a minimalist but eye-catching cabin with a sporty ambience, thanks to bold instruments and colour-matched accents on the seats.

The three-door hatch has seating for four and the Blue Oval's technical gurus have integrated some clever features into the interior, revolving around a 6-inch touch-screen display set up like an Apple iPad with large, easy to recognise icons.

The 'MyFord Mobile Concept' port also provides true hands-free operation, with almost all functions of the car (heating/cooling, radio etc) being voice operated. Owners of smart phones -- iPhones and the like -- can integrate their devices with the car, which then allows drivers to access all aspects of their phone via spoken command.

The net result of this broad spectrum voice control and touch-screen interface is the simplification of the traditional dashboard and centre console, an evolution of interior design that is no doubt being considered by all car makers.