2006 Ford E350 Xl High-top Wheelchair Lift Accessible / Passenger Van on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford Fiesta RS with 250 horsepower mooted

We know Ford is unveiling a new Focus RS on February 3, and it's heavily rumored to arrive brandishing an all-wheel-drive powertrain and as much as 350 horsepower. The folks at Ford Performance have also promised they are working on at least 12 models through 2020, and that still leaves a lot of time to get additional exciting vehicles out the door. One of those could be an RS version of the Fiesta, according to Evo. An RS take on the latest Fiesta would obviously need substantial boosts in both power and handling ability to warrant the work over the current top Fiesta ST (pictured above), which is already one of our favorite cars. Evo speculates that the 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder could be tuned further, possibly up to about 250 horsepower, and the high-performance hatch might even take some inspiration from the Fiesta WRC rally car with an all-wheel drive system. An unnamed Ford spokesperson remained cagey about the chances for the pint-sized hot hatch to Evo, though. "We can't say anything at this moment, but we have promised to produce 12 performance models in the coming years. We'll leave it for you to decide whether that includes a Fiesta at this moment," the source said to the magazine. Evo doesn't expect a launch across the pond until at least 2017, if it actually happens. Of course, there's the lingering question of whether such a niche project would work in the US. In Europe, the Fiesta RS would challenge similarly diminutive speedsters like the Volkswagen Polo R and Audi S1, but true competitors of an equivalent size here would be much more scarce. In fact with 250 hp, the hotter Fiesta could provide unwelcome competition within Blue Oval showrooms for the Focus ST. Featured Gallery 2014 Ford Fiesta ST View 47 Photos News Source: EvoImage Credit: Ford Ford Hatchback Performance ford performance ford fiesta rs

1964 Ford GT40 prototype sells for $7M

Seven-figure Ferraris are not horribly rare. Heck, an eight-figure Ferrari isn't a rare occurrence. Between modern masterpieces like the Enzo and more classic offerings, cracking the million-dollar mark isn't a particularly tall order for the cars from Maranello. For a Ford, though, it's a big deal.
Now, this is not just some rare Mustang. This is a GT40, the car that Henry Ford II commissioned to whip Enzo Ferrari around a track in France. As far as the Le Mans-winning racers go, they don't get much rarer than this one. Sold at the Mecum Auctions in Houston, this is one of the prototypes, meaning it's one of the very first GT40s ever built. That makes its $7 million winning a bid, a record for on-air coverage of the auction, a pretty darn impressive figure.
You can watch the auction below, but first, take a look back at our original story on this rare Blue Oval.

Ford will add lots of carbon fiber to new vehicles

With BMW receiving a bunch of positive press for its usage of carbon fiber to build its i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles, Ford is jumping into that game as well. The US automaker has reached a manufacturing agreement with Dow Chemical to speed up the use of that material in Blue Oval vehicles. Carbon fiber usage will cut weight from Ford's new products, boosting fuel efficiency as a result. Ford will work with DowAksa, a 50/50 joint venture between Dow Chemical and Turkey-based Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S, on a manufacturing partnership. The goal is to speed up technology research to make it cheaper to make cars and trucks with carbon fiber materials. Ford's light-weighting efforts received a boost of sorts this week when its aluminum-body 2015 F-150 was awarded a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's testing, making this year's version the safest to date. The new body construction cut 700 pounds from the truck's curb weight. Take a look at Ford's press release about DowAksa below. FORD, DOWAKSA TO JOINTLY DEVELOP CARBON FIBER FOR HIGH-VOLUME AUTOMOTIVE LIGHT-WEIGHTING APPLICATIONS Ford and DowAksa formalize agreement to advance the adoption of cost-effective carbon fiber components through technology validation and proof of concept to reduce vehicle weight and increase fuel efficiency without sacrificing strength Agreement provides pathway for a high-volume manufacturing partnership New joint development agreement accelerates joint research announced in January in partnership under new U.S. composites manufacturing institute Ford and DowAksa today signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to formally advance research on cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of automotive-grade carbon fiber, a material poised to play a significant role in the drive to make vehicles lighter for greater fuel efficiency, performance and capability. The agreement, between Ford Motor Company, Ford Global Technologies and DowAksa – a 50/50 joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S – will combine DowAksa's feedstock capacity, carbon fiber conversion and downstream intermediates production capabilities with Ford's expertise in design, engineering and high-volume manufacturing. The goal is to produce materials that make cost-effective carbon fiber composite parts that are much lighter than steel but meet automotive strength requirements.