New Ford Fiesta preview

Designed and developed in Europe for customers in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia and the Americas between 2008 and 2010, the new Fiesta is the first major product of Ford’s new global product development process. 

This new small car’s name keeps alive a model with more than 30 years of history.

The dynamic new look for this global family of small cars was previewed in three Ford Verve Concept vehicles which made their debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007, the Guangzhou Motor Show in November 2007 and the North American International Auto Show in January 2008.

In Europe, the new Fiesta will debut at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show in March and will go on sale in fall 2008 in three- and five-door hatchback body styles.  

By 2010, the new Fiesta will be on sale in markets across Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia and North America in a variety of regionally tailored models derived from a common platform.

The range of engines will include five 4-cylinder powertrain choices from the 68-hp TDCi diesel to the 1.6-litre Ti-VCT gasoline engine which delivers 115 hp.

Full technical details of the new Fiesta range will be released closer to the launch in autumn 2008.

Below we report excerpts from the official releases about the exterior and interior design.

From the official Press Release:

Exterior Design

The new Ford Fiesta brings the dynamic Verve Concept exterior and interior styling to production reality, demonstrating that small cars can be stylish, sophisticated and emotional.  It rejects the notion that an affordable small car has to be a commodity.

The bold colours, dynamic shapes and sculpted surfaces of the new Ford Fiesta indicate how deeply the spirit of the Verve Concept has been carried into production as the latest model of Ford’s ‘kinetic design’ family.

New production colours include ‘Squeeze’ and ‘Hot Magenta’, which is a production version of the unique colour developed for the three-door Verve Concept car.

The Verve Concept unveiled at Frankfurt in September 2007

"We were so pleased with the positive reaction to the body colour of the first Verve Concept, that we decided to adopt this colour for inclusion in the range soon after launch," said Marin Burela, Ford’s Global Executive Director for small-car development.

The dynamic, coupé-like profile and sporty stance of the new Fiesta expresses the emotional appeal of the concept cars.

"All the vital elements of ‘kinetic design’ combine to create a visually rich, dynamic exterior shape that is very close indeed to the original concept car," said Martin Smith, Ford of Europe’s Executive Director for Design.

"Full surfaces, bold graphics and dynamic lines combine coherently and harmoniously to create a dynamic spirit of fun and energy in motion." 

With a feeling of toned muscularity, the new Fiesta asserts an air of confidence, stylishness and individuality. 

Its aggressively contoured bonnet and front wings convey a broad-shouldered stance, and its face features a distinctive signature element – a bold lower trapezoidal grille that draws attention and reinforces the key Ford attribute of sporty driving dynamics.

Chrome and brightwork are used selectively, like jewellery accents, to convey elegance and sophistication. 

Large and full of character directly from the Verve concepts, Fiesta’s bold headlamps become part of the shoulder shape and extend aggressively rearward almost as far as the stylishly raked A-pillars.

The headlamp units incorporate all primary front lighting and signal functions – complemented on the lower bumper flanks by round, chrome-ringed fog lamps.

New Fiesta’s profile emphasises its new, cab-forward shape and an attitude of poised, sporty style.  The sweeping roofline extends appealingly from the forward-stretching A-pillar rearward, framing the bold graphic of the Fiesta side window profile to create the sporty feeling of a coupé for both three-door and yet-to-be-revealed five-door bodystyles.

“The Design team put as much importance on the shape of the five-door as the three-door,” said Stefan Lamm, Chief Designer Exterior, Ford of Europe.  “Both cars are based on the same body, which makes them sporty and dynamic, almost coupé-like.”

The Fiesta side windows combine to create a unified profile window graphic – a key ‘kinetic design’ element that communicates dynamism.  An elegant accent of chrome frames the lower edge of the side glass and accentuates the signature Ford “kick-up” at its rear.

The new Fiesta also features the signature bold wheel arches that communicate the vehicle’s stance and dynamic capabilities, giving visual emphasis to new 17-inch alloy wheels.

Dynamic, ‘kinetic design’ lines arc from side to side, uniting the upper corners of the tail lamps with the distinctive spoiler, which incorporates a slim LED stop lamp array.  The sculpture of the body shapes is accented by elements like the new tail lamp – another Verve element that feels like it is an integral part of the body – and the V-shaped tailgate’s chamfered rear glass.

“I’ve been saying just wait for the new Fiesta to see how kinetic design can be translated into a small car,” said Martin Smith, Executive Director of Design for Ford of Europe.

“But now the wait is over. New Fiesta evokes an instant emotional response that says ‘I want one’ which extends the traditionally practical values of the Fiesta brand to appeal to a new, style-conscious generation of small car buyers.”

Interior Design

Interior of the Verve Concept

The highlight of the Verve Concept interior – the futuristic, mobile phone-inspired, human-machine interface technology of the instrument panel centre stack – will be a core feature of the new Ford Fiesta when it hits the road.

Gone is the flat, upright centre stack of the instrument panel, a feature typical of many small cars driven by the need to package a large radio head unit behind the fascia panel. 

New technology allows Fiesta to separate the key elements of audio system – the control buttons, display and underlying electronics – in a distributed architecture that gives designers more freedom to create aesthetically pleasing, functional shapes.

Many customers of the new-generation Ford Fiesta were raised with mobile phones and they will be instantly comfortable with the design of the car’s Ford Convers+ system, which follows the centre stack contours to frame a large-screen display and control panel with key buttons for audio, in-car phone and vehicle settings.

Convenient toggle switches incorporated into the steering wheel allow the driver to control the system’s key functions easily and intuitively.

Another Verve Concept feature – the lozenge shaped array of large twist dials for the heating and ventilation systems at the midpoint of the centre stack – is retained in the production Fiesta design. 

This feature was inspired by the design of contemporary power showers. 

The new centre console features a convenient tray for MP3 players complete with built-in jack sockets for an auxiliary (AUX) audio cable and a USB, along with the traditional 12 Volt outlet.

This allows the car’s audio system to control and charge the MP3 player.

The new ambient lighting system provides a softly red glow to discreetly highlight the interior of the car.

(Source: Ford)