Ford Indigo
The Ford Indigo was a concept car developed by American automobile manufacturer Ford for the 1996 auto show circuit and designed by Ford's design and technical director Claude Lobo. Only two examples were built, of which only of them one was actually functional. It took Ford six months from the original computer designs to the finished show car. The functional concept is still owned by Ford. The non-functioning show car was auctioned off to Jack Roush.
History
The Indigo was developed to showcase Ford's Indy car technologies, including new materials and construction techniques as well as powertrain and aerodynamic enhancements. The monocoque chassis was developed in conjunction with Reynard Motorsport as a single piece tub made of a carbon fiber composite material, to which the suspension is directly attached. The suspension was a direct copy, in both design and materials, to Reynard's various Indy cars, needing only slight modifications to allow for a two-passenger layout.Specifications and performance
The working Indigo had a 6.0 L V12 48 valve DOHC engine which used the pistons, rings, rods and the valve train from Ford's Duratec V6 engine found in the Taurus and Mercury Sable. The engine had no relation to the V12 used in the GT90 concept unveiled a year earlier, despite both having the same displacement. The engine had a power output of at 6,100 rpm and of torque at 5,250 rpm. This engine would later go on to power many cars manufactured by Aston Martin which was owned by Ford until 2007. The engine was bolted directly to the chassis, and was a load-bearing member for some suspension components, as was found with most Indy cars. The transaxle was a 6 speed unit with a manual clutch, and steering wheel mounted push button gear shifting, developed by Reynard for its Indy cars. Ford claimed that the engine was so efficient that it should have been capable of on the highway. Five of these engines were built by Cosworth as commissioned by Ford are kept by the company.The Indigo used Fikse three-piece modular wheels wrapped in wide tires supplied by Goodyear. The steering was a modified rack and pinion power assisted unit borrowed from the Taurus. The brakes were from Brembo, with the rotors measuring 13.2-inch at the front and 14.0-inch at the rear. The Indigo was estimated to accelerate to in 4 seconds and could attain a theoretical top speed of.