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28-12-2012, 09:38 AM
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Stunning Debut of Cloud-Connected Ford Evos
October 18 2012
The Evos Concept showcases Ford’s new vision for customer-focused and smart technologies and global design language
Dramatic four-door, four-seat fastback concept with state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in hybrid power-trains
Driver engagement technologies explore seamless enhancement of the driving experience, driver well-being and smart, electrified power-train
Making its Australian debut at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show, the Ford Evos Concept represents the ultimate expression of Ford’s advanced levels of connectivity and new global design language.
The stylish four-door, four-seater fastback Evos explores key future power-train and smart technologies as the momentum of the company’s One Ford product plan continues to build.
“The Evos Concept represents a huge visual and technological change that will be a showcase of many Ford vehicles going forward,” Ford Australia President and CEO, Bob Graziano, said.
“It is a vision of tomorrow, today. Our customers in Australia will find elements of the Evos Concept’s stylish exterior design language in future Fords, as well as some of the cutting-edge connectivity technologies.”
Ford Australia is showcasing the Evos Concept inside its ‘studio’ stand, next to the all-new EcoSport SUV and Fusion, which provides a glimpse of the next-generation Mondeo to be introduced in Australia.
Graziano said the Evos Concept united three key elements that were at the core of the company’s One Ford global product strategy:
Smart technologies
Fuel efficiency
Outstanding design
“With its compelling design and innovative smart technologies, Evos is a clear demonstration of the exciting vision we have for the Ford brand, a vision that we think our customers will embrace,” he said.
The Evos Concept is a taste of the future from Ford. The next generation of Ford products around the world will display many of the distinctive design ideas and advanced technologies it showcases.
Technology vision for enriched customer experience
The Evos Concept is not just a design-led exercise. It also embodies the global Ford product development team’s move to design and develop vehicles as more than just an interior and exterior, or a collection of attributes.
“The goal with Evos was to focus on enriching a customer's every experience with their vehicle – both outside and inside. There was a strong focus on personalising it, adapting it, and creating unique, unexpected features that surprise and delight them,” said Christopher Svensson, Design Director Ford Asia, Pacific and Africa.
Svensson said one of the objectives of the design team responsible for Evos was to explore and extend the area of connectivity. Ford researchers did this by providing a personalised and safe connection to the outside world in an enriching manner designed totally for the vehicle context.
Ford’s global Research and Innovation team had the task of building the Evos Concept around a technology experience as visionary as the design. The result signals how Ford intends to build on the momentum of innovations like the SYNC in-car connectivity system, which is now available on the Focus range in Australia.
“Beyond the design, which is in itself important, the future of technology in a concept like the Evos will be defined by the experience that it delivers to the driver and passengers,” Svensson said.
Ford sees technology as more than just an impressive list of microprocessors, sensors and software; it’s about the application of that technology to create an experience that enhances the driver’s time behind the wheel.
The Evos Concept’s technology experience embraces a new generation of driver interaction and awareness currently under development in the Ford Research and Innovation laboratories. Seamless connectivity between the vehicle and the driver’s ‘personal cloud’ of information is at the heart of the vision for its capabilities.
Ford has explored the possibility of enabling a seamless lifestyle between home, office and car linked by access to the driver’s personal information.
With information from the cloud, the vehicle can provide the same connected lifestyle the driver experiences at home or office. The car knows the driver, and automatically adapts handling, steering and engine controls to deliver an exceptionally dynamic driving experience.
Ford researchers are focusing their efforts in this area to deliver on four key customer benefits: personalisation, seamless enhancement of the driving experience, looking after the driver’s well-being and delivering smart electrified powertrain optimisation.
The personalised, cloud-connected lifestyle
While today’s Ford products provide drivers with many personalisation options, cloud connectivity will enable future Ford vehicles to take the experience to the next level.
Drawing from a detailed understanding of the driver’s preferences and driving habits, the Evos Concept combines this personal information with additional data from the cloud, such as the driver’s work schedule and local traffic or weather conditions. This information provides a personalised and seamless experience as the driver transitions in and out of the car.
Ford has researched how it can use patterns or preferences set by the driver to make life simpler. In the case of the Evos Concept, the car gets to know the driver and can act as a personal assistant to handle some of the usual routines of a daily commute.
It could automatically play the same music or news program that was just streaming at home, or heat or cool the interior to an ideal temperature before the driver gets in without having to be requested by predicting departure time based on the driver’s calendar. Wirelessly communicating with devices in the home, it could close the garage door and switch off the lights automatically as it pulls away.
The cloud-connected vision shows the enormous potential of tailoring the driving experience to suit the exact personal tastes and moods of the driver.
Enhanced driving experience
Ford Evos Concept explores adaptive vehicle technologies to redefine the driving experience.
Current technology requires vehicle chassis settings to be defined based upon the abilities and tastes of a cross-section of drivers and the topography of typical roads. The concept foresees tuning handling and performance to the road ahead and the specific individual behind the wheel.
Learning driver habits and capabilities, the technology can overlay map and weather data sourced from the cloud to adjust powertrain, steering, suspension and braking systems for optimum enjoyment, comfort and safety. Because the vehicle is adaptive and honed to maximum performance based on the situation, it takes driving engagement to a new level.
Driver wellness
Ford researchers have already developed technologies focused on driver wellness, such as the heart-rate monitoring seat and certified allergy-free interiors.
With a seamless connection to the cloud, the Evos Concept monitors the physical state and workload of the driver and adjusts the driving experience accordingly.
Ford’s own wellness research and technologies are focused on relieving driver stress and enhancing their situational awareness. Ford understands that drivers around the world are spending more time behind the wheel, and the car should not be another stress point in their lives.
The Evos Concept is even equipped with advanced air quality sensors and filtration systems to help allergy sufferers. Location aware, it can access air quality data from the cloud and proactively suggest a healthier route to the destination.
In dynamic driving situations, the vehicle may simplify the appearance of the instrument panel to display only necessary gauge information and switch the driver’s connected smartphone to “Do Not Disturb” mode to help keep the focus of attention on the road.
Cloud-optimised hybrid power-train
Completing the vision for the Ford Evos Concept is a state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power-train.
Ford ‘powersplit’ hybrid architecture allows the electric motor and petrol engine to work together or separately to maximise efficiency. The advanced power-train typically runs in all-electric mode before switching to charge-sustaining hybrid mode for continued optimal fuel efficiency.
Cloud connectivity would provide further opportunities to enhance performance and efficiency by selecting the optimum combination of powertrain modes for any given journey.
Access to historical driver behaviour and travel patterns has allowed Ford to calculate the optimal fuel and energy efficiency by predicting the destination.
Ford researchers are continuing to work on increasing their understanding of driver behaviour, develop accurate protocols to predict it and enhance the trip by providing the smartest use of fuel or battery for the situation.
The cloud-optimised power-train would automatically ‘know’ when to save energy and switch modes, using information about the vehicle’s predicted travel route, any emission zone restrictions during the journey and current weather conditions.
In the future, communities may place firm restrictions on the types of vehicles allowed to use certain roads or highway lanes, and some city centres may choose to be open only to full electric vehicles. Helping drivers comply with such regulations could therefore be among the benefits of this technology.
For example, the French government is considering creating zones mandating lower emissions, while cities such as London, Berlin, and Stockholm already have them in place.
This capability would further enhance the performance of Ford’s advanced PHEV technology, which offers an overall driving range of more than 800 kilometres using the battery and engine – more than any other plug-in or extended-range electric vehicle.
With its leading-edge ‘cloud-optimised’ PHEV powertrain offering outstanding efficiency and range with supreme driving enjoyment, the Evos Concept highlights our vision for greener, smarter vehicles with outstanding customer appeal.
Ford’s new design direction
The Evos Concept was specifically developed to introduce the new Ford design direction. Some key design elements will find their way into forthcoming Ford vehicles.
The new global design DNA provides the company’s worldwide design teams with a common framework to guide the creation of new products, enabling them to shape a coherent family of distinctive vehicles sharing the same fundamental design character.
“The Evos provides a clear message about where Ford design is heading – as part of One Ford, we are shaping vehicles that are fun to drive, have a strong visual appeal, and above all, are stunningly beautiful,” Svensson said.
“You can see that in our studio concept at AIMS – the EcoSport and Mondeo are clear evidence of our future Ford design direction.”
Dramatic fastback design with unique proportions
To provide a fitting vehicle to introduce the new design language, the Evos Concept was conceived as a dramatic fastback concept, combining a striking new profile with innovative proportions.
Attention-grabbing lines conceal a unique new format, with a four-door, four-seat layout which combines dynamic appearance with surprising practicality.
This was deliberate - to create an exciting new interpretation of the fastback body-style, with a really innovative silhouette as well as dramatic and very modern proportions.
With the length of a typical C-car, but with width of a CD-car, the Evos Concept has a powerful, sporting stance. The forward position of the cowl, the strongly rounded front screen and the A-pillars set further to the rear enabled the designers to create the impression of a classic GT car, but with a very contemporary feel.
The Concept’s spectacular hinged gullwing-style doors, both front and rear, provide outstanding access to the spacious four-seat cabin.
The Evos Concept car measures 4500 mm long, 1970 mm wide and 1360 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2740 mm.
Distinctive evolution
Shaped as the ultimate expression of the new design DNA, the Evos Concept marks a bold evolution of the kinetic design language featured on existing global Ford products and is characterised by a number of important elements that will contribute to an unmistakable future Ford look.
From the front, the Evos Concept immediately signals the arrival of something new – a new face for Ford featuring the signature trapezoidal grille mounted higher on the car and creating a confident, more premium look.
Bold, technical shapes, such as the extremely slim ‘laser cut’ front headlights or the dramatic graphic created by the front and rear screens connected by the thin glazed section of the roof, add a distinctive character to the design. Sculptured flanks highlight attention to detail on the surfacing, which lends a refined quality and a tauter, more muscular character.
The Evos Concept embodies the core elements of the new global design language, while capturing the dynamic, fun-to-drive spirit which is central to the Ford DNA.
Most notable is the brand new ‘face of Ford’, with its higher mounted trapezoidal grille, and the design is characterised by the use of very bold, technical graphics.
The vehicle was sculpted with the same purity of surface sculpture and attention to detail which characterise premium vehicles. Around the world, a new generation of buyers have come to expect premium design in all products, regardless of the purchase price.
Built around the driver
Reflecting the fun-to-drive spirit of its exterior design, the interior of the Evos Concept is built around the driver. A stylish and innovative cockpit promises new levels of driving pleasure and driver interaction.
The interior architecture features clean and simple surfaces, with a muscular, athletic character to the slim upper instrument panel, enhanced by bold trapezoidal cut-outs. Contrasting these muscular forms, curvaceous cockpit display surfaces sweep down either side of the driver, providing secondary information about vehicle and infotainment systems.
The Evos Concept features a bold red driver’s seat and the vision of unprecedented driver interaction via an advanced driver interface. The two rear seat passengers get an equally special experience, with dedicated touch-screen displays to interact with the vehicle and individually adjustable sports seats.
Both the exterior and interior of the Evos Concept clearly communicate that this is a driver's car.
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