It'S an American sedan

Automotive Design & Production,  Feb, 2003  by Gary S. Vasilash

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A certain magazine editor has been concerned for some time that the problem with the designs that have been rolling out of Detroit are insufficiently "American." Rather, he has fumed, there is a tendency for the designers to create product that looks like it might have hailed from somewhere in the Pacific, and, consequently, misses the quintessential look of power and authority that, by gum, once made American iron the envy of everyone. Which leads us to believe that should the Ford 427 ever go from concept to production, he'll be first in line to get one.

As J Mays, Ford vp-Design, put it, "The 427 concept is unmistakably Ford and 100% American." (Although that line is not as good as his: "It's the kind of car that, when you drive it, makes you look like you're doing something wrong.") The car is a long and low four-door sedan that has a whole lot of design cues from the Galaxie 500 lineup of the '60s-especially the XL 427, from which its name is derived. Talk about a short overhang: the front tires seem to be just behind the front fascia when viewed from the side. Under the hood there's a V10 engine that is based on the production Ford modular V8 architecture. The aluminum cylinder head is based on that used for the SVT Cobra R Mustang. Interestingly, the 427 engine (which in the current nomenclature, is a 7.0-liter engine, but to call the 427 a "7.0" doesn't cut it) is almost 70 lb. lighter than the 5.4-liter Cobra R engine. It produces 590 hp 6,500 rpm and 509 lb.-ft. torque 5,500 rpm.

And like all good American quarter-milers, it has a manual transmission--a six speed.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gardner Publications, Inc.
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