Brentwood, March 27, 2002 – Ford's hot new European roadster - the exciting StreetKa - is teaming
up with pop music's hottest property, Kylie Minogue.
Ford StreetKa is a sponsor of Kylie's
39-date 2002 European 'Fever' Tour, which kicks off in Cardiff in the UK on
April 26, and ends in Barcelona on June 20.
The production version of the new Ford StreetKa debuts in exclusive
photography with Kylie, which will give the public a sneak preview of the new
car before it goes on sale in early 2003.
"The partnership with Kylie is
the perfect way for Ford to show off the production version of the StreetKa in
advance of its launch," said Earl Hesterberg, Ford of Europe's vice
president for Marketing, Sales and Service.
"StreetKa and Kylie have a lot in common – they are both small,
beautiful and stylish."
"Linking with Kylie will allow
us to show this car before launch in an environment where we know StreetKa will
have great appeal," Hesterberg added.
"Kylie is universally popular, especially so with young single
people who are resistant to more traditional avenues of marketing
communication. StreetKa and Kylie is
the perfect combination for them."
In her 39-date European 'Fever'
Tour, Kylie will dazzle crowds with a unique blend of pulse-quickening stage
performance and chart-topping music.
Kylie's success is reflected in a string of music industry awards
received already in 2002, including 'Best International Female' and 'Best
International Album' at the 'Brit Awards', and 'Best Selling Australian Artist'
at the Monaco 2002 'World Music Awards'.
"With StreetKa as proud sponsor
of these spectacular shows, we are convinced everyone will fall in love with
it," Hesterberg said. "If the
buzz and the growing demand are anything to go by, StreetKa looks like it, too,
will be a chart-topper."
Kylie was delighted to be the first
person outside Ford to see the car close up.
StreetKa – From Concept to Reality
The Ford StreetKa roadster was first
shown as a concept car at the Turin Auto Show in 2000. A year later, at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show,
Ford of Europe confirmed that the public reaction to the concept had been so
overwhelmingly enthusiastic, that the StreetKa would go into production.
The StreetKa concept was designed by
David Wilkie of Ford's Turin-based Ghia Design Studio. But turning the beautiful show-stopper into
a production reality needed the skills of a specialist, so Ford of Europe
signed up with Industrie Pininfarina SpA to engineer and produce the road-legal
model, based on the popular Ford Ka.
Under the close supervision of
Wilkie, and with the objective of staying as close to the concept as possible,
Pininfarina's task has been to engineer this exciting car for volume production
and launch in early 2003.
The cars appearing with Kylie are
pre-production prototypes, but are visually representative of the model that
will go on sale. Prices and technical specifications will be announced closer
to launch.
“With the StreetKa Concept, we were
looking for a public reaction, and we certainly drew a crowd whenever we showed
it,” said Martin Leach, Ford of Europe’s vice president of product
development. “Our decisions to go ahead
and produce the StreetKa with Industrie Pininfarina and to team up with Kylie
Minogue are indicative of our intent to connect with customers in contemporary,
exciting ways, and exemplify the spirit we’re striving to infuse into the Ford
range – exciting new products that are transforming the Ford brand in Europe.”
"We'll formally unveil the car
to the public at the 2002 Paris Auto Show in September," Leach
added.. "But between now and then,
it's a case of looking, but not touching."
# # #
Visit: www.StreetKa.com
StreetKa Chronology:
June 2000 Ghia StreetKa Spider Concept based on the Ford Ka
debuts at the Turin Motor Show.
October 2000 UK debut of StreetKa Concept.
February 2001 Ford announces links with Pininfarina to produce the Ford
StreetKa.
March 2002 Announcement of StreetKa sponsorship of Kylie
Minogue's European 'Fever' Tour.
September 2002 Public debut of Ford StreetKa at the
Paris Motor Show
Early 2003 Ford StreetKa goes on sale.
Kylie 'Fever' 2002 European Tour
Dates:
26-29 April 2002 Cardiff Arena
1-4 May 2002 Manchester Arena
6-9 May 2002 Birmingham NEC
11-12 May 2002 Manchester Arena
14-15 May 2002 Sheffield Arena
21-22 May 2002 Newcastle Arena
24-27 May 2002 Wembley Arena
30 May 2002 Stockholm - Hoven
31 May 2002 Oslo - Spectrum
1 June 2002 Copenhagen - Forum
3 June 2002 Munich Olympiahalle
4 June 2002 Vienna - Bank Austria
Hall
6 June 2002 Zurich Hellenstadion
8 June 2002 Berlin Velodrome
9 June 2002 Hamburg Sportshalle
11 June 2002 Frankfurt Festhalle
12 June 2002 Rotterdam Ahoy
13 June 2002 Oberhausen Arena
15 June 2002 Paris Zenith
18 June 2002 Milan Fila Forum
20 June 2002 Barcelona Pavello
Olympic Badalona