Members of the media and other VIPs were given a first glimpse of the Ford Verve concept, shown to the public last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, during a presentation in Hanau, Germany, last month.
If a concept car is meant to enable designers to 'think outside the box', the Verve is certainly that for its sweeping, three-door coupé lines are bold, and the bright metallic burgundy skin and the LED lights that draw the eyes to every interior switch give "the first hints of Ford's future small-car design vision".
This is a design philosophy that encompasses not just the Fiesta, which this future model will replace at the end of 2008, but all Ford cars to be built on this platform, including those sold in North America.
Martin Smith, Ford of Europe executive director of design, extolled the dynamic lines, full surfaces and bold graphics of the Verve: "We believe this language will work across the Ford product range.
"The small car lends itself to more expressive design language," he added. It is now looking forward to the reaction of its various target market groups.
Attention has also been extended to the interior, with "great design, style and features", making it unique. I had the opportunity to speak to two of the designers, both responsible for the interior of this concept: Niko Vidakovic, chief designer - interior, Ford of Europe; and Ernst Reim, supervisor of the B car and chief designer of the next generation of C segment cars that will replace the Focus.
Nico told me that the whole purpose of the exercise with this and previous Ford concepts was to prepare the public for the upcoming models - a strategy that has proved successful. "This is very close to the production car - we are already beyond the design freeze," he said.
Ernst said Ford's designers attempted to incorporate elements of the extreme, like the Iosis, in the final production cars. "If you scale and stretch a little bit, the main graphics of the exterior (70 per cent) and the interior (60 per cent) are in the new Fiesta."
The production model - the name is not a certain (do you like Verve?) - will be taller and a different solution has been found for the side graphics since the Verve concept lacks a B pillar (just behind the driver's door), yet he stressed that the final production car will not disappoint those who like the Verve.
If a concept car is meant to enable designers to 'think outside the box', the Verve is certainly that for its sweeping, three-door coupé lines are bold, and the bright metallic burgundy skin and the LED lights that draw the eyes to every interior switch give "the first hints of Ford's future small-car design vision".
This is a design philosophy that encompasses not just the Fiesta, which this future model will replace at the end of 2008, but all Ford cars to be built on this platform, including those sold in North America.
Martin Smith, Ford of Europe executive director of design, extolled the dynamic lines, full surfaces and bold graphics of the Verve: "We believe this language will work across the Ford product range.
"The small car lends itself to more expressive design language," he added. It is now looking forward to the reaction of its various target market groups.
Attention has also been extended to the interior, with "great design, style and features", making it unique. I had the opportunity to speak to two of the designers, both responsible for the interior of this concept: Niko Vidakovic, chief designer - interior, Ford of Europe; and Ernst Reim, supervisor of the B car and chief designer of the next generation of C segment cars that will replace the Focus.
Nico told me that the whole purpose of the exercise with this and previous Ford concepts was to prepare the public for the upcoming models - a strategy that has proved successful. "This is very close to the production car - we are already beyond the design freeze," he said.
Ernst said Ford's designers attempted to incorporate elements of the extreme, like the Iosis, in the final production cars. "If you scale and stretch a little bit, the main graphics of the exterior (70 per cent) and the interior (60 per cent) are in the new Fiesta."
The production model - the name is not a certain (do you like Verve?) - will be taller and a different solution has been found for the side graphics since the Verve concept lacks a B pillar (just behind the driver's door), yet he stressed that the final production car will not disappoint those who like the Verve.