Ford Svt Offerings Will Grow - Special Vehicle Team - Brief Article

Automotive Industries,  April, 2000  by Gerry Kobe

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Ford's performance-oriented Special Vehicle Team (SVT) will add more new products to the SVT lineup, according to SVT chief engineer John Coletti. "We are constantly having reviews between marketing and product development," he says. "We think we see some new opportunities and the business is growing. We are adding product lines--I can't say more than that."

Coletti says there is opportunity anywhere there is a discriminating, enthusiast driver, or anywhere there is opportunity for the mainstream car line to "borrow" from SVT. A good example of that was the Contour, Coletti recalls. Ford wanted to put that engine/transmission in Mondeos in Europe and the work was already done. He also says SVT can help change perceptions about existing platforms.

"The Cobra R is built off the old Fox platform," he laughs. "It started life as a Fairmont, but nobody is going to say the Fox platform is obsolete after they see it pull over one G on the skidpad."

COPYRIGHT 2000 Cahners Publishing Company
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group