The best Ford models never sold

Former Ford product designer and planner Steve Saxty published Secret Fords Volume One last year. It covered the design of each European Ford from the early-1970s through to the mid-1980s. His new book picks up the story through to the early-2000s.

The first book clearly impressed Ford, because the design team offered to scan nearly 6000 never-before-seen images for Volume Two. We asked him to share six of their secrets.

Mondeo alternative

The original Ford Mondeo took an astonishing six years from first sketches to final car. Why did it take so long? Because it was such an important car. Its Cologne-based designers needed to create something that appealed to four-door-loving Americans as much as hatchback-buying Europeans.

The idea was that Americans might pay a little more for a car with European flair and quality, while we got the Sierra replacement at a slightly lower price because of greater economies of scale.

Therefore the Mondeo was designed first as a four-door – and maybe that’s no bad thing judging by this car. This tough-looking machine was the runner-up design to the slippery, if slightly bland, design selected over it in preference.

GN34 supercar

Google ‘Ford GN34’ and you will find rumours of this car but no photos. This, though, was Ford’s almost mythical, never-seen challenger to the Honda NSX. It aimed far higher than being merely Ford’s Corvette, despite matching the GM car on price – see it as a Ferrari 328 rival at Porsche 944 money.

The body was designed in Turin by Ford’s Ghia studio in preference over a competing one from the Detroit studio and another by Italdesign. It was sophisticated under the slinky Italian skin, too. The British-designed chassis was powered by the famous Ford-Yamaha SHO V6 through a ZF transaxle and tested on the track – in secret, of course – by Jackie Stewart.

It could have been one of the greats but Ford, quite wisely, saw that the upcoming SUV market would be far more profitable. So instead of this supercar, they invested in making the Explorer. Wise maybe, but we can’t help wondering what could have been...

Project Osprey

Ford enthusiasts get misty-eyed at the thought of a Cosworth-powered Escort or Focus, and this one might have been one of the best.

Back in the early 2000s, Ford planned on a two-tier strategy of fast Focuses – an ST210 and an AWD monster engineered by Prodrive to take on the 300bhp Subaru WRX. Cosworth was commissioned to design the 210bhp and 300bhp engines – at a time when the ST sported a mild 170bhp and the turbocharged RS made 220bhp. An output of 210bhp from Cosworth’s naturally aspirated DOHC Duratec four-cylinder engine would have made it an epic performer, with an even fruitier Focus RS Cosworth above it.