Focus Show Stopper Raises Roof

At the British Motor Show we told you exclusively that this car was going to happen, and now, at the Paris expo four months later, it's made its official debut.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Craig Cheetham

28th September 2004

This is the eagerly anticipated Ford Focus coup΃©-cabriolet, which will be the blue oval's answer to the Renault M΃©gane C+C and Peugeot 307 CC.

The newcomer will be Ford's first drop-top offering in this sector of the market since the Escort cabriolet was axed in 1998. A convertible version of the original Focus was often mooted, but never appeared.

Officially, blue oval bosses insist that the car - called the Vignale at this stage - is merely a toe-in-the-water concept. But in an exclusive interview, Ford design chief J Mays told Auto Express the model was a showroom certainty, and production isn't far away.

"We wouldn't have made this car so complete a project if it wasn't going to be represented in some way or form in the Ford of Europe model range," he told us. "It's based on the architecture of a standard Focus, and in design terms is relatively simple to produce. So it's fair to surmise that this is just as much a real car as it is a styling study."

At the front, the folding hard-top model is almost identical to a showroom Focus. The only difference between it and the hatchback and saloon is a chrome radiator grille with horizontal bars. The arches are filled by 20-inch wheels, but these are unlikely to be offered on customer cars, which are set to go on sale towards the end of next year.

There are likely to be other significant changes when the newcomer reaches dealers - the suede and alcantara trim of the show car, along with the translucent blue finish, are hand-finished and are unlikely to appear on production models. Instead, expect the standard Focus seats and dashboard, but with extra metal detailing on the facia to mark the newcomer out.

The Vignale name is another aspect of the car that will disappear before it goes on sale. The tag is a nod to the late Italian designer Alfredo Vignale, who developed a number of prototypes for Ford in the Fifties and Sixties.

The production car is tipped to be called the Focus CC, and will be offered with a choice of 1.6-litre Ti-VCT or 2.0-litre Duratec petrol engines. There's also speculation a 2.0-litre TDCi diesel might be developed. Prices should start at around ΂£17,000, rising to more than ΂£20,000 for the flagship version.