The quick shutterbugs at KGP just snapped these first pictures of what appears to be a test mule for the new Ford Explorer running around on a car platform on the streets of Dearborn, MI. We've already reported the next-generation Explorer will be more car-like, something hinted at with the Ford Explorer America concept shown at Detroit earlier this year. The mule captured by KGP appears to be a mixture of the Ford Flex and Taurus X but with a taller ride-height, higher cowl and a revised A-pillar. All of this points to a taller, shorter vehicle than the current Explorer. Full spy report below the jump.
A new style of test mule has begun running around Ford's development centers, perhaps offering the first signs that testing has begun on Ford's car-based Explorer. The rough test mules (we've now seen several running the streets of Dearborn) are a mix of Ford Taurus X and Ford Flex, but there are some telling alterations, raising the prototype's ride-height, along with a higher cowl, and rigged A-pillars to accommodate what appears to be a more steeply-raked windshield. There are also clear signs around the rear hatch and roof rails that the platform has been widened. While the front clip is pure Ford Flex, the lowest slat of the Flex's three-bar grille has been removed, perhaps to better approximate airflow of the next Explorer's grille.
Ford also used the Taurus X body on mules for the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, but those mules had additional length added to their wheelbases. This latest mule features no such additions, suggesting that this new model will be shorter than the Flex for a more fuel-friendly footprint.
Ford confirmed earlier this year that the Explorer would be ditching its body-on-frame SUV construction in favor of a new unibody, car-based approach for greater fuel-efficiency. The Explorer's new direction was previewed by Ford's Explorer America concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and the general proportions of these latest mules seem to adequately approximate that concept.
The new unibody Explorer crossover is expected to reach the market in 2010.
Related posts:
- Like we didn’t know this already, but Europe is getting all the cool c ...
- After the Saleen garage strips down to the rails the F-150 they receive ...
- Im Ji-Hye was first spotted at the Seoul Motor Show last 2007 and has since ...
- 2008 Honda Accord Coupe Spy Photos...The New Coupe Got Caught at the Grocery Store
- The show creators wanted to use a Pontiac G8 in the role of K.I.T.T., but ...
Related posts:
- The company says every Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car and truck will have ...
- 2009 Ford F-150 , it's anything but a surprise the truck has been awarded ...
- The new Ford Mondeo is the ideal family car, that offers comfort at any ...
- Australian gov't to help GM, Ford fix fuel economy of large cars
- Gallery: 45 Years of the Ford Mustang Gallery: 2010 Ford Mustang Live ...
0 коммент.:
Отправить комментарий