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Ford FG Falcon - Design that Reflects the Car

Staff, Friday April 11, 2008.

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The all-new exterior and interior design of the FG Falcon embodies the vehicle’s core attributes of performance, comfort and fun-to-drive characteristics.

"We have wrapped this powerful, dynamic car in a design that visually delivers on the promise of what Falcon is," said Ford Asia Pacific Design Director Scott Strong.
"Our research told us that our customers wanted more sporty characteristics and more luxury from their Falcon. It was therefore very important that the exterior and interior design of the vehicle matched and visually represented the performance, dynamics, comfort and safety advancements that were being made in other areas."

With three distinct faces providing greater series differentiation, a new interior designed around the driver, and the first Australian application of European kinetic design influences, the FG Falcon represents the most design intensive Falcon program since the introduction of the AU Falcon in 1998.

The introduction of the G Series range sees Falcon come to market for the first time with three different front end treatments. This new strategy is a major departure for the Falcon range and has been designed to enhance the luxury positioning of G Series by separating it visually from the XT.

There are now three families of vehicles in the Falcon range Falcon XT, G Series (incorporating G6, G6E and G6E Turbo) and XR (incorporating XR6, XR6 Turbo and XR8).
While each family of vehicles is recognisably a Falcon, they each embody different characteristics and customer wants.
The XT has been designed to primarily appeal to fleet purchasers and entry level private customers, while the G Series has been designed to meet the needs of those customers who desire additional sporty and luxury cues from their vehicles.
The XR range continues to deliver on the overtly sports reputation for which it is renowned.

"Differentiation between the XT, G Series and XR model line-ups is evident in both the exterior designs and interior treatments, along with obvious differences in features and performance variants," said Strong.
"However, all the models in the new Falcon range share the same core design principles of kinetic design embodying dynamic movement, even when the vehicle is standing still. This European Ford vehicle design influence ensures that the 2008 Falcon will line up visually with Mondeo, Focus and future European vehicles in Ford showrooms."
Importantly, the new FG Falcon design encompasses body architecture changes and interior packaging upgrades that deliver marked improvements in ingress and egress, as well as rear seat headroom.

None of the exterior panels carryover from BF Falcon MkII and the doors, glasshouse and other key structural areas, such as the A- and C-pillars, bear little resemblance to the previous model.
Significant corporate investment in a single piece body side stamping press allowed the design team more freedom than ever before, with no aesthetic compromises at the C-pillar panel join. This resulted in both exterior and interior enhancements over prior models.
"Our exterior and interior design teams worked harmoniously with packaging, craftsmanship and electrical teams to deliver a new Falcon that was essentially designed from the inside out," said Strong.

"While the exterior of the vehicle had to embody the performance characteristics of a Falcon, it was equally important that the interior was designed to work in harmony with the driver.
This encompassed not just the interior look and feel of the core design, fabrics and colours, but also extended to the ergonomics of the Interior Command Centre (ICC) and the useability of the Human Machine Interface (HMI).

Exterior design of the new Falcon was led by Steve Park, Design Manager Advanced Projects, while the interior design was developed by Chief Designer Interiors, Marcus Hotblack.
Development of the all-new, high-tech HMI was led by Stuart Taylor, Electrical Engineering Manager.

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