Saturday, May 31, 2008

Spy Shots: Ford Fusion's new face found

We've known for some time that the Ford Fusion was due for a mid-cycle refreshening soon, but new spy shots from KGP Photography reveal that more might be in store for Ford's successful mid-size family sedan.
Previous spy shots have shown prototype Fusions wearing impenetrable front bras that completely obscured any design changes, but these new pics reveal what's been hiding underneath. This prototype features the current car's hood and "squircle" headlights, but sports a different grille style and front bumper. The Fusion's trademark three-bar grille looks like it will become more expressive in the next version, with the top bar bowed down slightly in the middle like a smile. We imagine the production version will have all three bars bowed to some degree, giving the Ford sedan a distinctly happy and swooped back face. The front bumper, meanwhile, reveals the shape of a new lower intake and two air intakes on each side that would house fog lamps. The most telling bit, however, is a character line we haven't seen before that appears to bend down from the front fender. This suggests that the entire front clip of the next Fusion will be all new, rather than just the mild refreshening we were expecting. Consider us intrigued and more than a bit curious at what the next Fusion, which may be a 2010 or 2011 model, will look like.

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