Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
As we have previously revealed, Ford engineers are testing a mule of the next-generation Focus using a modified body of the current generation.
Since the Focus is set to grow, the engineers who have put together this prototype had to improvise, just like their colleagues at other carmakers do for their respective projects.
The improvisation part includes fitting a smaller Mk3 Focus body on the larger Mk4 chassis. As you can see from the extensive photo gallery supplied to us by our friends at SB-Medien, many rivets were used to secure the panels in place.
We notice that the front of the Focus is wider than that of the current model, while the rear end is both longer and wider. It is easy to spot these differences thanks to the photos of the prototype on a trailer, which was stationary and allowed photographers to come close to the vehicle and get detailed shots.
It is curious to find a prototype of a car completely uncovered in the wild, especially since Ford was praising its camouflage skills just a few years back.
However, this photo gallery exists because the spy photographers were quick enough to snap a few shots of the prototype while the people in charge of transporting this mule were away.
Since this is a chassis mule, camouflage is not as important as it is when a carmaker wants to conceal an entirely new design. This means that upcoming prototypes of the Mk4 Focus will start to wear camouflage when testing gets to the next phase, which will use the production body panels.
This time, spy photographers also managed to get a shot of the interior of the next-generation Focus. Naturally, the image does not do it justice, as the vehicle pictured is an early prototype and the interior is just a mock-up, so it uses existing parts that are assembled to provide core functions. As you can observe, there is even a sticker that says the airbag is not operational.
The improvisation part includes fitting a smaller Mk3 Focus body on the larger Mk4 chassis. As you can see from the extensive photo gallery supplied to us by our friends at SB-Medien, many rivets were used to secure the panels in place.
We notice that the front of the Focus is wider than that of the current model, while the rear end is both longer and wider. It is easy to spot these differences thanks to the photos of the prototype on a trailer, which was stationary and allowed photographers to come close to the vehicle and get detailed shots.
It is curious to find a prototype of a car completely uncovered in the wild, especially since Ford was praising its camouflage skills just a few years back.
However, this photo gallery exists because the spy photographers were quick enough to snap a few shots of the prototype while the people in charge of transporting this mule were away.
Since this is a chassis mule, camouflage is not as important as it is when a carmaker wants to conceal an entirely new design. This means that upcoming prototypes of the Mk4 Focus will start to wear camouflage when testing gets to the next phase, which will use the production body panels.
This time, spy photographers also managed to get a shot of the interior of the next-generation Focus. Naturally, the image does not do it justice, as the vehicle pictured is an early prototype and the interior is just a mock-up, so it uses existing parts that are assembled to provide core functions. As you can observe, there is even a sticker that says the airbag is not operational.
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