Ford Middle East welcomes the ‘latest member of the Ford family’ – the All-New Edge – by writing its name in 50m letters using dozens of Ford vehicles. Now THAT’s a welcome…
How do you promote the arrival of a brand new flagship CUV into the market? Here in the Middle East, such an occasion traditionally includes a snazzy location, a company CEO with cue-cards in his dandiest suit, a stunning backdrop – step forward Burj Khalifa – and said model itself polished to within an inch of its bodywork front and centre on a dedicated stage. When launching its new Edge in the Middle East though
Ford Middle East though – in association with crankandpiston.com – took an altogether different approach when it recently launched its new Edge compact utility vehicle in the Middle East, by spelling out the word ‘EDGE’ in 50m high letters using more than 50 Ford vehicles. All of which was shot from above with a drone.
The logistics, as you can imagine, are beyond mind-rotting, as our man discovered when he went behind the scenes to participate in the activation itself. But more on that next week. First, the Edge.
All-new from the ground up, the second generation Edge sits atop a lighter CD4 platform than its predecessor, brings with it not only revised handling but also a new engine range, and represents the latest wave in the company’s ‘One Ford’ business strategy (essentially an all-embracing plan to get Ford’s global operations all on the same page). Key of focus for the Edge are not wildly radical as a result, development focusing principally on refinement, clever packaging, and, most importantly, technological advancement. Our ‘Sport’ trimmed test model for instance comes as standard with a 180-split view camera, a hand’s free automatically opening tailgate, Sync2 in-car connectivity, and more driver-focused Adaptive Steering. Even passenger comfort has improved in consequence: as part of the Active Noise Cancellation technology for instance, three miniature microphones help enhance engine noise in the cabin at the expense of road roar.
And then of course, there’s the more efficient EcoBoost engine technology, already standard on both the Mustang and F-150 pick-up, and recently used to class winning effect during the Ford GT’s return to Le Mans. Not that Ford wants this to overshadow performance, of course: the 340PS (335bhp) EcoBoost V6 is nearly 60bhp more powerful than the next V6 and produces 400lb ft of torque. Not to be taken lightly, in other words.
