2007 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet

March 2nd, 2006

The 2007 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet was presented at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show.

The transformer is a production version of the highly acclaimed Vignale Concept that was first introduced two years ago in Paris.

2007 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet (rear view)

The Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet was created jointly by Ford of Europe and Pininfarina — an Italian design house responsible for such pieces of art as 1964 Ferrari 275, 1984 Ferrari Testarossa, 1999 Peugeot 406 Berlina and 2003 Maserati Quattroporte.

It is planned that the Coupe-Cabriolet will go into volume production in the middle of 2006.

Just like the upcoming Peugeot 308 cc, the car features a two-piece folding electric hardtop roof that can be turned up and down with a push of a button, transforming Focus from coupe into cabriolet and back again in a matter of seconds.

2007 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet (roof up)

Technical specifications are yet to be announced, but the company says that the 2006 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet will be equipped with a usual set of refinements, such as air conditioning, multiple airbags, in-car entertainment options and a full complement of active and passive safety features.

Set to compete against the VW Eos Convertible and the Opel Astra TwinTop, the Focus CC is powered with a choice of only three powerplants: 1.6 and 2.0-liter gasoline engines and a 2.0-liter oil-burner.

While the diesel engine is more or less adequate to the task producing 136bhp and 251 lb-ft (340Nm) of torque and providing the car with 0-62mph acceleration of around 11 seconds with combined fuel consumption of 50mpg (4.7 l/100km), the pair of gasoline engines just looks ridiculously weak.

The 1.6-liter inline-four develops no more than 100bhp and 110 lb-ft (149Nm), crawls to 62mph in 13.6 seconds and offers your CC a top speed of 114mph (183km/h) while delivering a fuel economy of 39.8mpg (5.9 l/100km) in a combined cycle.

More potent (or less impotent, you decide) 2.0-liter four-pot takes you to the 62mph mark in some 10.3 seconds but will travel around 37.6mpg (6.3 l/100km) in a combined cycle. And, I suspect, overtaking on a busy two-lane road will be a never-ending source of adrenaline rush.