| Dad’s Dream: a 400-Horsepower, Mustang-Based Sedan by Thom Blackett | |||
| What it Is | |||
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What’s Under the Hood
| There are the car shoppers who seek out the most practical, fuel-efficient, and socially-responsible rides available on the market, and then there are those who would buy the Ford Interceptor should it ever move from concept to production. Sure, it runs on E-85 ethanol, so it represents a slap rather than a punch to the Sierra Club’s face, but the greenies probably won’t approve of the 400-horsepower, 5.0-liter cammer V8 sourced from Ford Racing. That macho engine is joined to a six-speed manual tranny which pushes power through a solid rear axle. Twenty-two inch rubber ensures a solid grip. At 201.6 inches, the Interceptor is about an inch longer than the Ford Five Hundred. | |
| Inside, the Ford Interceptor concept sports some funky gauges, headrests that retract from the roof, black leather with caramel-colored stitching, and thick cowhides on the shift knob and steering wheel. Nice, but more interesting are the seatbelts fastened to the four sport bucket seats. The Interceptor uses four-point harnesses, safety items that Ford is apparently testing for production application. Rear passengers are treated to inflatable rear belts, another new technology that Ford engineers are currently putting through the wringer. What’s not found inside the Interceptor is exceptional head room – with 37.5 and 35.9 inches front and rear, respectively, the Interceptor comes up about two to three inches shy of the 2007 Ford Five Hundred. | |
| Ford’s executive director of design, Peter Horbury, has this to say about the Interceptor concept and the audience it attracts: “Our customer target for this powerful, masculine sedan was a man with a family. He’s essentially a good guy, but a bit mischievous. He loves power and performance. But ultimately, he’s responsible. When he has his family on board, he values new safety technology as well as a powerful engine that runs on E-85 ethanol.” Horbury goes on by saying, “The Interceptor concept is much like a Marine in dress uniform. He looks smart and elegant but you can see the raw power that lies beneath.” | |
What We Think
| Call us crazy, but the Interceptor concept looks eerily similar to the 427 concept Ford unveiled years ago. That monster lead to the comparatively effeminate Fusion, so maybe we should conclude that the Interceptor hints at another V6-powered, front-drive sedan from Ford. Don’t bet on it. Just as was the case with the 427, we’re a fan of the Interceptor, if for no other reasons than it packs a big engine, puts power to the ground through a manual transmission, and does the whole big sedan thing in an in-your-face way that that few outside the domestic market can match. Unfortunately, chances of seeing the Interceptor anywhere near production are less than nil.
Photos courtesy of Ford | |
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