Directly opposite my desk, sitting atop my model cabinet, is a voluptuous one-tenth scale clay model of an open sports car. It’s a daily reminder of a unique concept car about which, on first sighting, Giorgetto Giugiaro said, ‘it is not a car, it is a piece of art.’
This is the Focus before the Focus.
Ford’s 1992 Ghia Focus, a slice of rolling sculpture, did not make production, but its influence permeated Ford’s design studios – inspiring the 1997 Puma and 2004 StreetKa – while the interior shapes and surfaces freed up the designers and helped give life to Ford’s ‘New Edge’ interiors. You could also argue that elements of its shapes and styling features inspired Chris Bangle’s 1994 Fiat Coupe and the 1993 Fiat Barchetta.
