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Ford Kuga preview


Ford has released the first official styling sketch of a funky crossover based on the Iosis X concept, which will join the range in Europe next year.

The Ford Kuga compact 4x4 uses the `kinetic design’ seen on the Iosis when it was showcased at the 2006 Paris Motor Show.

While the sketch waters down the strong styling of the Iosis, it shows an athletic emphasis with an aggressively styled front end, pronounced character lines and bulging wheel arches.

The Kuga will be previewed at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and will be launched across Europe in 2008.

"With the launch of the Ford Kuga, we will keep the promise that we gave at the Paris Motor Show 2006; to develop a stylish new model based on the stunning Ford iosis X concept car in less than two years," Ford Europe president and CEO, John Fleming, said in a statement.

Ford is yet to release any technical details of power train or equipment specification for the Kuga. A good fit could be the 2.0-litre Duratorq common rail turbo diesel four-cylinder, which has just arrived in the Ford Focus TDCi, developing 100 kilowatts of power and 320 Newton metres of torque.

Petrol units might include a version of Ford’s four-cylinder 2.0-litre Duratec, also in the Focus, that develops 107kW and 185Nm, although a sport version could happily carry the hot Focus XR5’s 166kW/320Nm 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder.

Ford says the Kuga will go into production early in 2008 at Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany.