Iosis Signals Ford Europe Design Future

Ford Motor Co. hasn't announced any production plans for the dramatically styled Iosis concept it will debut on Tuesday at the Frankfurt auto show.

But the “kinetic design” of the sporty 4-door signifies unequivocally the styling future for Ford of Europe, the auto maker says.

Iosis has four doors but no B-pillar and no rear-view mirrors.

Suicide doors flip upward.

"It sends a bold message because our future products will be bold," says Martin Smith, Ford of Europe's executive design director.

The Iosis is the first concept offering from Smith, who joined Ford of Europe in August 2004, after leaving Opel AG as its design boss.

Last November, Smith, along with Design Director Chris Bird, realigned the European styling group to better integrate interior and exterior design functions. The integration affected Ford's two European design centers in Dunton, U.K., and Merkenich, Germany. (See related story: Ford Europe Snags Opel GTC Designer; Realigns Design)

The Iosis builds on the SAV Concept shown by Ford earlier this year at the Geneva auto show. (See related story: Ford Confirms CUV on Mondeo Platform for Europe)

Ford describes the new kinetic design styling language as energy in motion, embracing the marque's core values and driving quality.

Lewis Booth, chairman of Ford of Europe, with Iosis.

The new language springs from Ford's “shared technologies” strategy, which allows stylists the freedom to develop different models and designs from shared component sets. The Iosis and SAV concepts, for instance, share many components.

With the Iosis, Ford says its Europe stylists were striving for drama, a muscular stance, strong shoulders, well-defined wheel arches and taut, dynamic feature lines.

Among the unique features are the double pivoting “suicide” doors, hinged at the top like those of an exotic sports car. The Iosis has four doors but looks more like a coupe because of the advanced engineering that eliminates the B-pillar.

The rear-view mirrors? There are none, replaced by three rear-facing cameras, whose views are displayed on a high-definition liquid-crystal display in the dashboard, as part of the ultra-modern cockpit.

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