The New Ford B-MAX Unveiled At The 2011 Geneva Motor Show

Ford is unveiling its dramatic new Ford B-MAX vehicle at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, providing an early preview of exciting innovations from Ford in the small car market.

Ford The B-MAX has a unique new body design which eliminates the traditional B pillar and features twin rear sliding doors. This innovative format - which has already been engineered for production - promises best-in-class access to the cabin, together with unmatched convenience and flexibility.

The dynamic and stylish new Ford B-MAX illustrates how Ford's kinetic design language can be translated to a unique new vehicle format. The innovation continues inside the cabin, where the interior offers exceptional space and versatility for such a compact vehicle. The use of high quality materials highlights the vision that small, practical cars can also be comfortable and well-equipped.

Based on Ford's global B-car platform - shared with the highly successful new Ford Fiesta - the Ford B-MAX is slightly more than four metres in length, the Ford B-MAX is just 11 cm longer than the Ford Fiesta five-door, and is 32 cm shorter than the new Ford C-MAX.

With this highly compact footprint, the Ford B-MAX is ideally placed to meet the fast-growing demand for downsized cars which are better suited to congested urban conditions, but without sacrificing interior space and comfort.

With both front and rear doors open there is outstanding access to the interior, with a huge, clear aperture measuring over 1.5 metres wide. This is around twice the width offered by competitors with alternative door concepts, making it significantly easier to enter or exit the rear seats, attend to children in child seats, or load shopping.

Having folded the 60/40 split rear seats and the front passenger seat to create an extensive flat load floor, the side access is particularly convenient to load bulky items such as flat-pack furniture or even a bicycle.

With the front passenger seat folded, the interior is capable of swallowing exceptionally long loads measuring up to 2.35 metres in length.

Sitting 11cm taller than Fiesta, the Ford B-MAX also provides extremely generous accommodation for its occupants. Drivers benefit from a higher 'command' seating position, while rear seat legroom and headroom is significantly improved.

In developing the Ford B-MAX's unique integrated B-pillar body design for production, Ford engineers have ensured that it delivers the same outstanding levels of crash protection as Ford products with a more conventional structure.

To deliver the required performance in side impacts, the structure of both front and rear doors has been significantly strengthened - with ultra-high-strength Boron steel in key load-bearing areas - so that the door frames work together to absorb energy like a 'virtual B pillar'.

Special safety interlocks and reinforced latch mechanisms ensure that the doors remain firmly fixed to the roof and floor structure during an impact, and enable the front and rear doors to act together to protect the occupants.

When these measures are combined with other structural enhancements to the bodyshell and the latest restraint system technologies, the result is a body design which meets the highest safety standards.

The Ford B-MAX is powered by an ultra-low-CO2 powertrain, featuring a state-of-the-art three-cylinder 1.0-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine equipped with the Ford Auto-Start-Stop system.

This three-cylinder Ford EcoBoost represents the next addition to the global family of Ford EcoBoost engines. Like the 1.6- and 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engines, which have recently been launched in Ford's European medium and large cars, the 1.0-litre unit combines direct fuel injection, turbocharging and twin independent variable cam timing to achieve significant reductions in fuel-consumption and CO2 emissions.

Designed to replace larger conventional four-cylinder petrol engines, the three-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine is undergoing final development prior to its production launch.