Focus Droptop

The Ford Focus small-car lineup will get a coupe with a retractable hardtop in about two years in certain markets.

Ford Motor Co. will partner with Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina SpA to build a car similar to the Ford Focus Vignale concept shown in September at the Paris auto show. Ford says the decision to make a convertible Focus was based on public reaction following the one-off's Parisian debut.

The production car will be built at Pininfarina's Turin, Italy, facility.

The convertible will be based on the redesigned Focus, which bows for '05 on the global C1 platform, and is slated for sale in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. The auto maker says convertibles sell particularly well in the U.K., where Ford is the market leader. Ford and Pininfarina worked most recently together on making the Streetka roadster a reality.

The vehicle likely is not coming to the U.S.