Frankfurt 2011: Ford Evos Concept

Concept cars serve different roles.  For instance, when BMW shows us an "M5 Concept,"  you can safely bet a $100 bill that the production M5 will look just like that, only without the black wheels and license plates that say "concept."

Ford and Mazda are different, though.  While sometimes their concept cars preview production cars, most of the time they preview the company's latest styling ideology.  So while I wish Mazda would put something as sexy as the Shinari into production, it's really just a preview of how the brand's mainstream products will look.

Same goes for the latest concept that Ford is displaying at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year, the Evos.  Don't expect to see it, or something like it, at a dealer any time soon.  Know why?  Well, when have you ever seen a production car with doors like this?

Yeah, gullwing doors is a no.  However cool it would be to see a production car sprouting a pair.  But as a styling exercise, the Evos is nicely devoid of a lot of the overtly showy stuff that concepts usually sprout to wow crowds while it's on a turn table.

According to J Mays, Ford Design head, the design is intended to "Seduce, not Provoke."  While that seems like an almost direct stab at former BMW design head Christopher Bangle, it makes a lot of sense when looking at some previous Ford of Europe designs.  Things like the thin headlights, hexagonal grille opening, etc are cues you can expect to find on future Ford designs.

In typical show car fashion, the drivetrain is a plug-in Hybrid with lithium-ion batteries borrowed from the C-Max Energi.  Also usual for a concept with no production intent, the interior is purely a flight of fancy.  I do like the controls located on the seat, though!

The new styling language of the Evos seems quite a bit toned down from some of the things Ford of Europe has been putting out lately.  Expect to see some of the cues from this car showing up on production Fords in the next 5 years or so, and there'll be more of the Evos to see at Frankfurt!