These are the latest pictures of the new Ford Ka undergoing pre-production testing ahead of its planned debut at the Paris motor show in September.This replacement for the 11-year-old original is part of a co-operation between Ford and Fiat and it shares a platform with the Panda and the 500. These spy shots give us the first glimpse of the new Ka’s cabin, which reveals a Fiat-derived indicator stalk, funky looking air vents, a dash mounted gearlever and an ergonomic button layout that appears very similar to the Fiat’s. But although the shape of this Ka mule bares a strong resemblance to the fashionable 500, John Fleming, president of Ford Europe, has stated that the new Ka won’t share any visible parts with Fiat’s cute urban runabout. Ford’s engineers are also likely to heavily rework the Fiat chassis in an effort to maintain the old Ka’s reputation for fine handling. It had been predicted that Fiat would build the Ka for Ford alongside the 500 in Poland. However, the Polish factory’s production lines are now believed to be at full capacity.Interestingly, Ford has recently bought the old Daewoo factory in Romania and is expected to invest an estimated £450 million in the plant. It could be that the 120,000 new Kas Ford intends to sell per year will be built here.
