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Few comnpact MPVs will swallow a surfboard. Fewer still will let you load it from the side.

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• Ford B-Max is small but innovative

The problem with MPVs is that owners will always try to load more into them than the designers ever dreamed possible, leaving the car companies (usually) one step behind in the Space Race.

But now Ford has taken a huge (pun intended) leap in the right direction with the new Ford B-Max, due to debut at the Geneva show in March, with an idea so simple (in principle, anyway) it’s breathtaking.

They took the B pillar off the body and put it in the doors.

Ford of Europe exterior design director Stefan Lamm admits it’s not a new idea.

“People are struggling with the spatial challenges of city driving,” he said, “and we wanted to find a new solution.

“Door systems like this have been a designer’s dream for many years; now we have taken the concept from an idea on a designer’s sketch pad and put it on the showroom floor.”

The B-Max body shell has a hinged front door and a sliding rear door on each side – but with no B pillar between them, creating an unobstructed opening 1.5m wide on either side of the vehicle.

Most rear doors provide about half that space; the Opel Meriva’s rear-hinged rear door, for example offers maximum access less than 700mm wide.

HOW DID THEY DO IT?

The high-strength steels (some as much as five times stiffer than mild steel) that give the B pillars of a conventional vehicle the strength to withstand a heavy side impact without the doors popping open have been moved to the rear edge of the front door and the front edge of the rear sliding door, with latches at the top and bottom, rather than in the middle, hooking into strong lockplates in the floor and gutter-beams.

Of course, it wasn’t that easy; more than 1000 detailed computer simulations were run over three years to optimise side-impact crash performance. Each test took 24 hours to run and used the equivalent computer-power of eight desktop computers – and even then Ford’s own private mythbusters wrecked 50 pre-production B-Max body shells to prove the computer simulations would hold

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Few comnpact MPVs will swallow a surfboard. Fewer still will let you load it from the side.

Related Stories

• Ford B-Max is small but innovative

The problem with MPVs is that owners will always try to load more into them than the designers ever dreamed possible, leaving the car companies (usually) one step behind in the Space Race.

But now Ford has taken a huge (pun intended) leap in the right direction with the new Ford B-Max, due to debut at the Geneva show in March, with an idea so simple (in principle, anyway) it’s breathtaking.

They took the B pillar off the body and put it in the doors.

Ford of Europe exterior design director Stefan Lamm admits it’s not a new idea.

“People are struggling with the spatial challenges of city driving,” he said, “and we wanted to find a new solution.

“Door systems like this have been a designer’s dream for many years; now we have taken the concept from an idea on a designer’s sketch pad and put it on the showroom floor.”

The B-Max body shell has a hinged front door and a sliding rear door on each side – but with no B pillar between them, creating an unobstructed opening 1.5m wide on either side of the vehicle.

Most rear doors provide about half that space; the Opel Meriva’s rear-hinged rear door, for example offers maximum access less than 700mm wide.

HOW DID THEY DO IT?

The high-strength steels (some as much as five times stiffer than mild steel) that give the B pillars of a conventional vehicle the strength to withstand a heavy side impact without the doors popping open have been moved to the rear edge of the front door and the front edge of the rear sliding door, with latches at the top and bottom, rather than in the middle, hooking into strong lockplates in the floor and gutter-beams.

Of course, it wasn’t that easy; more than 1000 detailed computer simulations were run over three years to optimise side-impact crash performance. Each test took 24 hours to run and used the equivalent computer-power of eight desktop computers – and even then Ford’s own private mythbusters wrecked 50 pre-production B-Max body shells to prove the computer simulations would hold

Article source: Article Source

.

Few comnpact MPVs will swallow a surfboard. Fewer still will let you load it from the side.

Related Stories

• Ford B-Max is small but innovative

The problem with MPVs is that owners will always try to load more into them than the designers ever dreamed possible, leaving the car companies (usually) one step behind in the Space Race.

But now Ford has taken a huge (pun intended) leap in the right direction with the new Ford B-Max, due to debut at the Geneva show in March, with an idea so simple (in principle, anyway) it’s breathtaking.

They took the B pillar off the body and put it in the doors.

Ford of Europe exterior design director Stefan Lamm admits it’s not a new idea.

“People are struggling with the spatial challenges of city driving,” he said, “and we wanted to find a new solution.

“Door systems like this have been a designer’s dream for many years; now we have taken the concept from an idea on a designer’s sketch pad and put it on the showroom floor.”

The B-Max body shell has a hinged front door and a sliding rear door on each side – but with no B pillar between them, creating an unobstructed opening 1.5m wide on either side of the vehicle.

Most rear doors provide about half that space; the Opel Meriva’s rear-hinged rear door, for example offers maximum access less than 700mm wide.

HOW DID THEY DO IT?

The high-strength steels (some as much as five times stiffer than mild steel) that give the B pillars of a conventional vehicle the strength to withstand a heavy side impact without the doors popping open have been moved to the rear edge of the front door and the front edge of the rear sliding door, with latches at the top and bottom, rather than in the middle, hooking into strong lockplates in the floor and gutter-beams.

Of course, it wasn’t that easy; more than 1000 detailed computer simulations were run over three years to optimise side-impact crash performance. Each test took 24 hours to run and used the equivalent computer-power of eight desktop computers – and even then Ford’s own private mythbusters wrecked 50 pre-production B-Max body shells to prove the computer simulations would hold

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The Vel Satis was an embarrassing failure for Renault in the luxury market.

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• Mercedes and Renault to share engines

It is a perception amongst buyers of expensive vehicles that “proper” luxury cars have rear-wheel drive or, sometimes, all-wheel drive, but never front-wheel drive.

Whether that is true is immaterial; it is sufficiently widely held that Renault, which does not have a rear-wheel drive platform, has struggled in recent years to sell its range-topping Espace, Laguna and, especially Vel Satis models.

That’s not the only reason (frankly, the Laguna is boring and pretentious, while the Vel Satis was just plain horrid, and unreliable to boot) but it’s an important one.

So it made sense when Renault/Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn commented during an interview on France Inter radio last week that he would use Renault’s tie-up with Daimler to collaborate on a new luxury sedan.

SHARING THE GOOD STUFF

Renault (and, with it Nissan) formed their strategic partnership with Daimler, agreeing to share platforms and powertrains, in 2010 and, as far back as the Frankfurt show in September 2011, Ghosn said Renault was considering using a Mercedes platform for a future premium model – although he wouldn’t say which one.

Renault has said it plans to replace is Espace, Laguna and Vel Satis models from 2014, starting with the Espace.

Now, given the French flair for stylish yet practical MPV interiors and smooth, wind-cheating exteriors, allied to solid Stuttgart B-Class underpinnings, frugal Renault diesel engines and reliable Japanese electronics, the result is likely to turn the premium MPV class on its ear – and could possibly put a dent in VW and Peugeot/Citroen market shares.

A REAL WINNER

Take that two steps further: a Laguna replacement on a C-Class platform would undoubtedly out-style the German donor car and, with the right combination of strong diesels and rear-wheel drive, could conceivably outsell it – in France if nowhere else!

Certainly it would be a quantum-leap improvement on the underwhelming Laguna.

But the cherry on the top would definitely be the Vel Satis replacement – and such is the reputation of that temperamental mechanical mistress that we would urge Renault not to use the same name.

Based on the sophisticated E-Class platform, using the best of

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Think odf it as a 185kW fridge with an attitude.

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• Kia GT concept could found a dynasty
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The Kia Soul, successful as it is, has all the sex appeal of a refrigerator – or it did, until now.

At this week’s Chicago auto show Kia pulled the covers off this three-door Soul coupé concept, called the Track’ster, hinting at what could possibly be the future of the Soul family.

Designer Tom Kearns said in his presentation: “The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog – but it had to be approachable as well.

“We wanted to base the car in reality so people instantly knew it was a Soul, but with a lot of attitude. It had to be a bold interpretation that would change people’s conceptions of what a sporty Kia could be.”

CARVED FROM SOLID ALUMINIUM

Bold starts with the orange and white colour scheme and carbon-fibre grille trim, while deeply recessed headlight lenses, accented with LED’s, echo the Track’ster’s trapezoid theme.

The Track’ster concept is a runner and, with 185kW, quite a serious one.

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But the front end is dominated by a huge lower intake, between big LED driving lights with carved-from-solid aluminium bezels, above a road-skimming carbon-fibre spoiler.

The extended front doors have smooth push-style handles – machined from solid aluminium, to match racing-style fuel filler cap – while the carbon-fibre side skirts are accented in orange, with rear-brake cooling ducts that actually work.

Also carved from solid aluminium are the 19” rims, made by HRE to a Kearns design, wrapped in 245/40 front and 285/35 rear Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 gumballs.

MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE

The concept’s wheelbase is 2570mm, about 20mm longer than the production Soul, its track 125mm wider, and it runs on lowered, stiffened suspension tuned for the track.

Now this is where it gets interesting: the Track’ster is more than just a pretty face. It’s a runner, with a turbocharged, two-litre engine pushing 185kW (66 percent more than the standard Soul) through a short-throw six-speed manual ‘box to an electronically controlled all-wheel drive system.

Grey leather interior has lots of

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This all-American Pony Car has what Ford claims is the most powerful production V8 in the world.

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Ford’s in-house performance division, the Special Vehicle Team, has given itself one helluva 20th birthday present – in the shape of the Ford Shelby GT500 convertible, making its debut this week at the Chicago Auto Show.

Officially speaking, SVT was born at the 1992 Chicago show with the launch of the SVT Mustang Cobra and F-150 Lightning pick-up. Since then Dearborn’s go-fast guys have built more than 210 000 cars and trucks with names such as Ford GT, Mustang Cobra R, SVT F-150 Lightning, F-150 SVT Raptor, Shelby GT500KR and the soon-to-be-launched Focus ST.

MORE THAN 320KM/H FLAT OUT

That 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra’s five-litre V8 was good for 173kW, which shows you how far SVT has come in two decades – the GT500 boasts 480kW from its supercharged V8 and, when fitted with the optional Performance package, it’s nearly 3.5 seconds quicker around Sebring International Raceway than the previous models.

The 5.8-litre, all-aluminium engine also delivers 815Nm, taking the GT500 to more than 320km/h flat out and making it, Ford says, the most powerful production V8 on the market, thanks to a new supercharger, new cross-drilled block and heads, revised camshaft profiles, a new carbon-fibre driveshaft and upgraded clutch, gearbox and rear axle.

ELECTRONICALLY ADJUSTABLE DAMPERS

480kW and 815Nm, plus the Performance suspension package, make it 3.5 seconds quicker around the Sebring circuit than its predecessor.

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The Performance package adds Bilstein electronically adjustable dampers; at the simple push of a button on the dashboard the suspension is re-set from Normal mode (a comfortable ride over everyday road irregularities) to Sport mode, giving improved response time on the track, less body roll and reduced pitch under braking.

New Brembo brakes come with six-piston front callipers and larger discs all round, with more aggressive, softer-compound pads for more initial bite.

As with the coupé, the convertible will also be available with the Track package, which includes all the Performance goodies plus

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