2007 Ford Verve Concept

You are currently looking at what's going to be Ford's next city car. WhileFord's little Fiesta, a B-segment subcompact is selling well in Europe, it doesn't have much to offer its customers in Asia or North America in a time when having extra-efficient but roomy little vehicles is important. The Verve has been brought out as a preview to the European Fiesta, but it also represents one of a future generation of international small cars, to be sold within, most relevantly, North America. Each of these critical markets will receive a concept vehicle of their own designed to suit regional tastes, to debut at a major auto show. It's the materialization of a promise made by Ford's CEO Alan Mulally this past spring that involved Ford of Europe taking the leads in organizing the international development of future small cars.

The Verve Concept was designed by two Ford of Europe studios under the "Kinetic Design" design language. Its team in Dunton, UK did the initial work, while the German design studio in Cologne helped to finish the concept off. The combination of the two studios has created a very modern, very stylish design that's a completely different approach to the modern B-car compared to the current upright Fiesta. If you've been keeping an eyeon what European automakers have been doing with their B- and C-segment vehicles, this should be little surprise as most consumers want cars that look longer, lower and leaner; cars that look like cars, not little vans.

The Kinetic Design has created some of the most attractive mainstream cars to be introduced in a long time. The Mondeo and S-Max minivan have given Ford's European product lineup a fresh, modern look, while the recently announced Kuga compact crossover and this Verve Concept continue on this trend. While the shape of the Verve's body is unlike any other Ford product, the details are very familiar. The rising belt line and large glass space that create the side profile work well with the low-height hatchback and bright LED taillights. Around the front, the Verve's cat's eye headlamps, and large, wide lower grille link it to multiple European Fords.

"Our Design team took an unrestrained approach to how our future small cars could look, and this eye-catching concept was one of the results. If we get the reaction we expect, I'm certain that the team will incorporate elements of this advanced design vision into our final production design. This will make the next generation of small cars from Ford very compelling indeed," says John Fleming, President and CEO of Ford of Europe.

The next Fiesta will look similar to the Verve, but it won't be an exact copy. The roofline will be slightly higher, the headlamps slightly smaller and the shape of the grille less dramatic, but it's been said by insiders that the back end of the vehicle, including the spoiler and the shape of the rear glass will be more or less identical.

The interior of the Verve is finished in typical concept car style, with lots of touch-sensitive buttons, wild fabrics and bright color splashes. The basic cabin looks to be fairly user friendly, with many controls situated on the upper instrument panel within easy reach of the driver. We could easily see a toned down version of this interior entering production, particularly the shape of the dashboard, the swoopy door panels and the motorcycle-style cowls for the gauges. Ford might even be able to bring the panoramic roof into production, which would give its compact interior a sense of airiness. The choice of color on the concept car, a metallic dark magenta, was supposedlyinspired by trendy fashion and cosmetics.

While nothing has been set in stone about the Verve, it's expected that the production version of this car will use components derived from the Mazda2, just like the current car. If this is indeed the case, this Ford will feature a space-saving torsion beam rear suspension as well as key components such as the 2's electrical power steering. We also wouldn't be surprised to see the production version of the car go on a diet in order to reduce its emissions count and to further lower its fuel consumption.

Looking into the automotive crystal ball, predictions have already been made regarding the types of engines that will be used in the production car. Europeans will have a selection of gasoline and diesel engines, but what's surprising us is the sheer number of choices that people can get. Because the Fiesta has a performance legend to uphold, the top of the line motor will most likely be 1.8 liters in displacement, producing as much as 150 horsepower. Regular versions with the 1.3- and 1.6-liter engines should make somewhere in the 80 to 115 horsepower range. Ford will also launch a brand new diesel engine with the production car, featuring technology that was adapted from its diesel partners, PSA-Peugeot-Citroen.

The Verve Concept will make its debut in Frankfurt next month, and it's likely that the production version of the hatchback – the successor to the Fiesta – will arrive by the end of the year, if not early next year. As for North America, Ford is expected to show off a version of this vehicle, most likely as a sedan, at a major auto show here in the U.S., most likely LA or Detroit. Ford's approach to creating an international subcompact car would be to keep the hardpoints of the design, such as the angle of the windshield, consistent between its international cars, with easily altered components, such as the hood and fenders for the different markets. A production version of this vehicle could be on our streets by the end of the decade, which would help to bolster Ford's position in an entry-level segment that it currently is not entered in. Analysts are already predicting that Ford could top one million total units of these vehicles by the end of 2011. Ford hopes that by sharing one vehicle internationally it can deliver a solid performing vehicle to all of its market, as well as make a profit, something that's typically hard to do on small, affordable vehicles like these.