Ford has revealed a new lightweight concept version of the Ford Mondeo, which is over 300kg lighter than the standard car.
The firm says that the use of lightweight materials has allowed it to reduce the mass of the 2013 Mondeo, which clocks in at 1554kg in standard form, by almost 25 per cent – meaning it now weighs around the same as a Ford Fiesta.
Among the benefits of the reduced weight are improved acceleration times, better load capacity and improved fuel economy over the 31.4mpg offered by today's car.
Ford says the lightweight concept uses many of the materials found in today's mobile devices, including chemically-toughened glass and lightweight plastics. Other materials featured on the concept include magnesium and carbonfibre.
The research concept, created in conjunction with the US Department of Energy, aims to show the long-term potential of weight-saving in vehicles. It's likely that many of the materials used on the concept will find their way into Ford's production cars in the future. Such technology will be needed in order to help pass increasingly strict emissions regulations.
Head of Ford product development Raj Nair said: "Consumers today want better fuel efficiency, but they also want more technology and features in the car, which usually adds weight to the vehicle.
“A focus on light-weighting will be fundamental to our industry for years to come, and we are investigating many advanced materials applications as possible solutions for weight reduction in our vehicles.”
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31.4 mpg
IIRC, this concept actually uses the 1.0T ecoboost so it really ought to be more efficient no matter what the weight.
This spells a dismal future for caravan makers if they can't do something about their heavy vans. I pull a 1350kg van behind my Mondeo (coming in around 1600 kg) and that works well, although is very thirsty. Such a light Mondeo would make a great car for everyday use, but an awful tug. In fact, I'm pretty sure it couldn't pull my van at all, not safely anyway.
One by one, all the cars must get lighter as the EU demands they must, and that is a good thing. But caravans could become history - much to the delight of some of you good folks I'm sure! :D
Petrol is still too cheap
Mondeo-man