Ford Mondeo Concept to Debut at Paris

Press Release

Page 1: Mondeo Concept
Page 2: Coupe-Cabriolet / S-Max
Page 3: Galaxy / FlexiFuel
Page 4: Ranger / RS WRC

COUPÉ-CABRIOLET BOOSTS FORD'S BEST SELLING FOCUS RANGE

• Ford of Europe's first power-operated hardtop model joins best-selling Focus range
• Open-air motoring combines with Ford PrecisionDrive characteristics
• Year-round practicality with best-in-class luggage capacity
• Elegant Italian design combined with durability and outstanding rigidity
• Available with choice of one Duratorq TDCi engine and two Duratec HE engines
• Designed and developed in partnership with Pininfarina S.p.A
• Goes on sale Europe-wide from late autumn 2006

Focus Coupé-Cabriolet, Ford of Europe's first power-operated hardtop production model makes its debut in left-hand-drive configuration at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. The new hero model for the popular Ford Focus range adds the emotion of open-air motoring to the already established and highly acclaimed core characteristics of the company's best selling model in Europe.

Focus now offers three-door and five-door hatchbacks, a four-door sedan and a spacious wagon, plus the new Coupé-Cabriolet and the versatile Ford Focus
C-MAX. The range offers a vehicle for every driver need, including the exciting Focus ST for those seeking high performance.

This stylish Coupé, which is also the first Ford of Europe production vehicle to carry the unique "Pininfarina" design badge, reveals its second personality in just 29 seconds. At the touch of a button, it transforms quietly and quickly into a dynamic Cabriolet.

Its two-piece, fully retractable hardtop not only guarantees comfort, stability, durability, and a high degree of year-round, everyday practicality but it also lends the vehicle two exciting personalities. Together with sporty Ford Focus ST, the
all-new Coupé-Cabriolet sits at the very top of the Focus family.

Four-seater with Emotional Appeal

Creating a true four-seater that combines strong emotional appeal with complete practicality for everyday use was a top priority for Ford designers and engineers. With the roof closed, new Focus Coupé-Cabriolet offers a best-in-class luggage capacity of 534 litres. Even with the retractable hardtop stowed in the boot, the new Ford still provides 248 litres of luggage space under the folded roof. No direct competitor in this market segment offers more.

Because of its construction, the two-piece retractable hardtop delivers excellent customer advantages in terms of durability and rigidity. Yet it also provides the vehicle with seamless, flowing and elegant lines.

Ford Quality Combined with Italian Elegance

Ford of Europe and Pininfarina designers started with a set of parameters that described the new vehicle's characteristics precisely: It had to be a true and recognisable Ford Focus, yet with an Italian-style and tailor-made body "suit". It also had to exude elegance, harmony, and dynamism from every angle, regardless of whether the hardtop is closed or stowed in the boot.

In this respect, the slender profile of the rear roof pillars is of particular significance for the vehicle's body design. They flow elegantly into the boot lid, which gently arches towards the rear of the car. This lends new Focus Coupé-Cabriolet an unusually elegant yet dynamic stance – with the roof open or closed.

A Focus on Driving Quality

In order to bring highly acclaimed Ford Focus driving quality into the segment of compact retractable hardtop coupes, great care was taken in tuning the chassis. Based on a very stiff body shell, well known Focus proven chassis components have been adjusted carefully to provide the Focus Coupé-Cabriolet with the same Ford PrecisionDrive that has earned the Focus family its reputation.

To match the dynamic performance of the chassis, the Focus Coupé-Cabriolet is available with a choice of three engines: Ford's 1.6-litre Duratec petrol unit with 100PS (74 kW), the 2.0-litre Duratec HE with 145PS (107 kW) and the acclaimed 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel with 136PS (100 kW) and standard DPF.

International Success

The Ford Focus is one of the most successful model ranges in Europe with more than 4 million units built, plus 370,000 Focus C-MAX models built since its launch in 2003. The Focus, which boasts European sales of 442, 000 units in 2005, is produced at European assembly plants in Saarlouis in Germany, Valencia in Spain and St Petersburg in Russia.

But the Focus story isn't confined to Ford of Europe. Production sites for the Ford Focus outside of Europe include the US, China, Taiwan, Philippines and South Africa. More than five million Focus cars have been sold worldwide, with major sales highlights in 2000 and 2001, when the Focus achieved the status of being the best-selling car in the world. The previous Focus model was also the first vehicle in automotive history to win the 'Car of the Year' title both Europe and America.

EARLY SUCCESS FOR NEW FORD S-MAX

• Early sales success for new S-MAX and Galaxy with 50,000 produced
• Stylish and sporty S-MAX brings thousands of new customers to Ford brand
• Euro NCAP awards the new Ford S-MAX 36 points and 5 stars for adult occupant protection – the highest score in its class
• S-MAX achieves a 4-star rating for child protection
• New technologies now available to Ford customers for the first time include Human Machine Interface, Adaptive Cruise Control, Interactive Vehicle Dynamics and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
• Ford S-MAX combines style, space, and design, i ntroducing elements of Ford 'kinetic design' language
• S-MAX features Ford's unique FoldFlatSystem for occupant seating
• Developed and built in-house by Ford alongside new Galaxy and Mondeo

S-MAX Customers new to Ford

More significantly, according to market research, over half of the new S-MAX vehicles built have been delivered to customers who are new to Ford. Three months after the S-MAX went on sale in selected markets across Europe, more than 35,000 orders for the vehicle have been taken.

"We are delighted with the response to the new S-MAX from customers and the media," said Stephen Odell, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. "This confirms our belief that customers want innovative solutions to their driving needs. With 5+2 seats, a wide choice of engines and expressive styling, the S-MAX offers motorists a fresh approach that is proving hugely popular.

"The fact the S-MAX is drawing new customers also demonstrates the broad appeal of the Ford brand," Odell said. " Ford delivers great-looking, well-engineered cars and driving enjoyment without compromises. That's what the S-MAX is all about."

So far, the most popular S-MAX series is the "Titanium" model, with more than 50 per cent of customers ordering this top-of-range model. Where it is an option, around half of the buyers are specifying the seven-seat configuration. More than 30 percent of customers are also opting for new features such as the panoramic roof and Bluetooth® connectivity.

S-MAX Scores Five Stars for Safety

The new Ford S-MAX has also achieved a class-leading five star rating for adult occupant protection under the Euro NCAP crash test protocol. Together with the latest Focus model, Ford now offers two vehicles that achieved a maximum 5-star rating in Euro NCAP. With 2 stars and 13 points, Ford S-MAX also achieved a competitive result for pedestrian protection

"Through our comprehensive safety approach we are continually improving the active and passive safety of our vehicles," says Gisbert Gäb, Manager Vehicle Safety, Ford of Europe. "With the new S-MAX, we have further enhanced our Intelligent Protection System (IPS) by introducing a driver's knee airbag in combination with the advanced horizontal stroking steering column and an ultra stiff body structure. This 5-star performance in the Euro NCAP tests clearly underlines our no-compromise strategy to safety."

Ford's Intelligent Protection System (IPS) is a holistic approach towards safety. It combines a body structure optimised for strength and crashworthiness with
state-of-the-art restraint equipment and driver aids that help avoid an accident plus features that lessen the likelihood of injuries in an impact.

Ford S-MAX safety includes the latest-technology front air bags and a new driver's knee air bag as well as side-mounted thorax air bags for the front seats plus first- and second-row window curtain air bags.

In 2003, the Ford Focus C-MAX was the first car ever to be awarded four stars for child protection. The new Ford Focus flowed suit in 2004 and the S-MAX, with its three-anchor ISOFIX system for the outer seats of the second row, also achieves
this rating.

An advanced neck injury protection system is also standard on the all-new Ford
S-MAX. Combined with 3-point seat belts, optimised pre-tensioners and load limiters, anti-submarining seat subframes , a horizontal stroking steering system and safety pedals, these features provide the occupants with a highly comprehensive safety system.

Ford S-MAX (left hand drive) Euro NCAP results:

New S-MAX Technologies

The new Ford S-MAX, along with its sister vehicle the new Ford Galaxy, have opened a new chapter for Ford of Europe in delivery of exciting driver-focused technology.

Now available on all S-MAX models are new active safety technologies targeted at providing new levels of control and accident avoidance. These supplement the standard Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and the optional enhanced Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system,

New technologies include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Forward Alert (FA), Collision Mitigation by Braking (CMbB) and a new Interactive Vehicle Dynamics active suspension system with continuously controlled damping.

S-MAX and Ford Galaxy are also the first production Ford models to offer premium driver information systems. The Human Machine Interface (HMI) fitted to all
S-MAX and Galaxy models is the first generation of a system that will soon become familiar to Ford customers, with the all-new Mondeo also set to benefit.

HMI provides drivers with comprehensive information on the vehicle through a series of configurable menus. Easy to control toggle switches on the steering wheel allow the driver to review key data including in-car entertainment and navigation systems. Also available is a new Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.

Additional model

The all-new S-MAX is an additional model in the Ford of Europe product portfolio. It shares many new convenience, dynamic and safety features with its sister car, the new Ford Galaxy. However, its 5+2 seating, distinctive styling, and the availability of the 220PS Duratec 5-cylinder turbo engine from the Focus ST, signals its sporty character.

The all-new Ford S-MAX and Galaxy are born from an entirely new vehicle architecture driven by Ford Motor Company's Global Shared Technologies initiative. With this unique approach to product development, Ford has been able to design and engineer two vehicles in S-MAX and Galaxy which, while sharing many of their core technologies, present themselves as individual products with unique appeal, starting with their design.

The S-MAX, along with the new Ford Galaxy, feature elements of Ford's "kinetic design" language, expressing energy in motion and emphasizing Ford's dynamic driving capabilities in an emotional way. With an emphasis on people carrying capacity and flexibility, both models also feature Ford's unique FoldFlatSystem (FFS) for the rear passenger seats.

The new Ford S-MAX was fully developed in-house at Ford and is built exclusively at Ford's Genk plant in Belgium. Production of the S-MAX, together with the new Ford Galaxy, began in April 2006.

"We are pleased with the response to the new Ford S-MAX from customers and the media," said Joe Bakaj, vice president, product development, Ford of Europe. "We are also very proud of the vehicle's safety performance and the class-leading Euro NCAP ratings. It shows that we are fully committed to continually improve the safety of our cars."