Joined
·
14,692 Posts
(08:30 March 23, 2004)
SVT product revamp looms for Ford's Special Vehicle Team
By AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
John Coletti, director of Ford Motor Co.'s Special Vehicle Team, will launch the fastest Ford-badged vehicle ever this year, the 550-hp Ford GT sports car. Meanwhile, Ford is phasing out production of the SVT Mustang Cobra and Focus. The Mustang will return on the new model, probably in 2006. And there's a new version of the F-150 Lightning in the works. Coletti updated Automotive News Staff Reporter Richard Truett on SVT during the SAE World Congress in Detroit this month.
Will you be out of the sport-compact segment when the Focus SVT ends production?
Near-term, yes.
How can SVT cater to sport-compact fans without selling a complete, factory-made tuner car?
We are restructuring how we want to go into that. The sport-compact segment is more of a performance parts business. Rather than spending $20,000 to $25,000 on a new car, those kids - I'm talking those under 25 - their preference is to get a secondhand car for about $10,000, and load it down with their own componentry.
So then the SVT brand will mean factory-engineered performance parts only for the smaller Fords?
This is a market we are going to support. The exact way we are going to do it now is we've got to put good base products out there. For example, the new 2.3-liter PZEV Focus is an outstanding piece. It's a good building block.
Full Article Here
SVT product revamp looms for Ford's Special Vehicle Team
By AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
John Coletti, director of Ford Motor Co.'s Special Vehicle Team, will launch the fastest Ford-badged vehicle ever this year, the 550-hp Ford GT sports car. Meanwhile, Ford is phasing out production of the SVT Mustang Cobra and Focus. The Mustang will return on the new model, probably in 2006. And there's a new version of the F-150 Lightning in the works. Coletti updated Automotive News Staff Reporter Richard Truett on SVT during the SAE World Congress in Detroit this month.
Will you be out of the sport-compact segment when the Focus SVT ends production?
Near-term, yes.
How can SVT cater to sport-compact fans without selling a complete, factory-made tuner car?
We are restructuring how we want to go into that. The sport-compact segment is more of a performance parts business. Rather than spending $20,000 to $25,000 on a new car, those kids - I'm talking those under 25 - their preference is to get a secondhand car for about $10,000, and load it down with their own componentry.
So then the SVT brand will mean factory-engineered performance parts only for the smaller Fords?
This is a market we are going to support. The exact way we are going to do it now is we've got to put good base products out there. For example, the new 2.3-liter PZEV Focus is an outstanding piece. It's a good building block.
Full Article Here
