Ford of Europe’s design team worked secretly to bring the iconic RS200 closer to new, younger audiences. Car Design News visited them in Cologne to find out more
Car design is generally seen as a creative art form, a chance to express oneself. The reality is not quite as rosy – this is a business after all, and not every idea, sketch or even working prototype will make the cut. There are always hoops through which to jump and stonewalling by senior figures. You don’t simply do what you want.
But in today’s digital age, designers do have a little more freedom to play, even if it is in secret. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic RS200, Ford of Europe’s team in Cologne took it upon themselves to have some fun and create what they see as its successor. Not a like for like – such as the ground-up reinterpretation from Boreham Motorworks – but something that speaks to the emerging generation of younger drivers.
“It was very much a case of designers going rogue,” design boss Amko Leenarts says. “They humour me with the impression that they can be controlled.” More on that later.
With a younger audience in mind, the so-called ‘Friendly Monster’ is a digital concept only for now, albeit we did see a scale model on our visit to the studio earlier this year. It is very much a futuristic expression and perhaps speaks to the company’s mentality, having explored how the Capri might look if it remained in production. The same thinking happened here.
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The implications for design are not immediately clear, and although a merger is significant, it continues a wider trend for industry consolidation
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