After revealing details on the 2010 Ford Ka ST, AutoExpress also revealed details on a drop-top version of the Ka. Set to arrive in European showrooms in 12 months, the Ka CC will compete with the recently announced Fiat 500 cabriolet (a car with which it shares an assembly line.)
The Ka CC will be limited to a two-seater featuring a metal roof. Under the hood Ford will place either a 100bhp 1.4-liter gas or Fiat’s 1.3 Multijet diesel. Expect the Ka CC to carry a price premium over the standard car, starting at around £13,500 (under $24,000 if it were available in the U.S.)
Why does Europe get to keep all the hot hatches? After we brought you a preview of the new Honda Civic hatchback last week, we now get a glimpse at the next Ford Ka ST. Based on the 2009 Ka, the ST version will be revealed in 2010. The ST should face some stiff competition from cars like Abarth 500 and Renaultsport Twingo 133.
The Ka ST will feature a bodykit with flared wheelarches and sporty front and rear bumpers. Its dynamic aspect will be accentuated by the by the racing stripes and the multi-spoke alloy wheels, side skirts and a venturi-style rear end, completed with twin exhausts.
Under the hood there will be a 1.4-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that delivers 135bhp. The 0 to 60 mph sprint will be made in 8 seconds while top speed will be around 125mph.
Ka, Ford Ka. Inserting a car into a movie is nothing new. One of the best examples is if it wasn’t for Dustin Hoffman running around California in his Spider for the movie “The Graduate”, Alfa Romeo may have not existed very long in the U.S. at all. A lesser example is the new Mondeo’s warm reception it got in the last James Bond film “Casino Royale”. But the film gave Ford some great buzz about the new family sedan, so now it’s trying it again, this time with the budget-minded Ka. But Bond’s ego can’t fit in the little car so it will be given to his female friend.
So far there have been no announced plans to bring the Ka to the U.S. Possibly if the Ka gets real interest from American moviegoers, then it might become part of the other European models Ford will offer in the USA. For the new movie “The Quantum of Solace”, Ford has assembled a new Ka that is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination. So much for machine gun headlights and grill mounted missiles.
Ford officially released pictures of the 2009 Ka that will make its official debut in October at the Paris Auto Show. The new generation UK best seller comes twelve years after the original was introduced. The original design was one of the first production cars to use Ford’s "new edge" design philosophy. Now, the next generation will be brought up-to-date utilizing Ford’s "kinetic" design.
Roelant de Waard, chairman and managing director, Ford of Britain, said, "The original has been a huge hit in the UK with a sales record of over 480,000 – 80% of which have been to retail customers, and many of those first-time buyers."
Stay tuned, more details should be revealed before the official debut.
After 13 years, Ford is finally giving the world a new Ka. Although Ford does not sell the Ka in the U.S. (nor has it made any announcements to the contrary,) it is an an essential car for Ford in European and Latin American markets. The second generation Ford Ka will be in good company as it will not be built alongside the Fiat Panda and 500 at Fiat’s factory in Tychy, Poland. It will likely also share engines from the 500 and the Panda’s range.
The new Ka will make its world debut this October at the Paris Auto Show. But like in many other cases it couldn’t remain a secret until the official launch, and here’s the first official image.
