Ford and Fiat

Photos: De Fusco/ Gianni Siccardi

03rd November 2007

From drawing board to prototype in well under two years – the new Ka has been developed in super-quick time. However, it’s fair to say that Ford has had a bit of a helping hand in the project.

That’s because when the blue oval agreed to build a small car in conjunction with Fiat – the two companies signed a contract at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2005 – work had already begun on what would become the new 500 (pictured). The two models have been developed side-by-side since then, something that’s clear from looking at the prototypes. Auto Express’s spies spotted the first Ka mule back in June (pictured, right), and it even wore the same heavy plastic disguise as the 500, complete with a dummy porthole in the rear window.

The protruding headlights were fakes designed to throw our photographers off the scent – as you can see from our main images, the roadgoing Ka gets neat flush-fitting units. Yet while there has been plenty of shared knowledge on the engineering of the 500 and Ka, insiders assure us the new Ford will offer a truly class-leading driving experience.