This could be the face of the Ford Focus that begins rolling off the Broadmeadows production line in 2011. The Carsales Network obtained this computer generation illustration of the car from our European agency Carparazzi and it suggests the new car's styling could split opinion.
Ford Australia President Marin Burela promised the new Focus would be a bold design but one that appeals to small-car hungry buyers. But he didn't comment on the accuracy of our illustration after we showed it to him at the opening of last week's Melbourne International Motor Show. He claims design work is still being carried out on the car at Ford's design headquarters.
"Obviously the design of the new Focus is very much taking place right now so there is no final design execution yet, that is taking place in Colonge [Germany] and the vehicle will be a global vehicle," Burela says. "Australia is inputting into the process in the way we need to. In terms of is this [illustration] the way the car is going to look? I can't say that because all I can say to you is this; just go back and look at all the things you've seen in the past about different cars and what you finally get out as a production car and what you saw running around as a test car are usually two different things."
Whatever the final design, Burela is confident the company can produce an appealing car and one that pushes the boundaries like the original Focus did when it was launched in 1998. According to Burela the interest of the car buying public is moving faster than ever before and that requires companies to push the limits further than before.
"When we started off with Fiesta, I led the global program with Fiesta, and when we started that journey it was very polarising. What do you think of it now?" he says. "I think one of the things we all learnt at Ford is moving quicker in terms of people's choices, desires, needs and wants than they have ever historically moved in the automotive industry. I think you have to be really out there. I think you have to be fresh, you have to be innovative and you have to be bold. Fiesta is a great example of that. When we came out with the Focus that was extremely bold, but once again, it was an incredible hit. It won everywhere it went."
The Focus represents a huge step in the future of Ford Australia. The next generation car will be built alongside the Falcon at the company's Broadmeadows base from 2011. While the last 'bold' car to be built at the factory was the controversial AU Falcon, Burela is adamant the new Focus won't be polarising by the time it launches locally, roughly two years from now.
"I can't comment on some of the things that happened in history," he says. "All I can say to you is that we're very, very comfortable and very confident that our design leadership, plans and things we're executing will continue to put us in a leadership position from a design perspective. And you can see that in our products; Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo they are all class-leading design cars and that's not going to change."