Nobody ever said concept railway car could n’t be fun , and no vehicle ever exhibit that thought better than the 1988 Ford Splash construct car . Ford ’s liberal - spirited , youth - orient Splash concept vehicle ostentate its pleasures brazenly , without a touch of shyness . The colourful four - seater – the creation of a quartette of talented young blueprint students – owe its source more to the Volkswagen Beetle - based dune buggies of California than to humdrum passenger motorcar , or even to conventional sports machine .
Company publicity , in fact , hardly let on that the multipurpose Ford Splash concept car was create with motoring in mind . Instead , it was trace as " the ultimate plaything for those who like water sport . "
Water , in fact , served as a canonical theme . Splash was say to be a vehicle that function as transportation to the beach or the ocean , carry Aqua-Lung or surfing gearing and as many as four reveler .
However , anyone old than 25 was sure to question just where those two in the back could possibly have squeezed in when the cap panel was in place . cramp ? sardius would probably cry out for more cubitus elbow room .
If nothing else , the Ford Splash construct machine was colorful . Flamboyantly so . Youthfully so . No frumpy grays or droop browns here , to take away from the feeling of baseless abandon .
Both the consistency and the inside were embellish out in fluorescent blue with magenta accents , intended to deliver a never - ending aura of being out in the fresh , unresolved air . The matching wheels were similarly colored . Upholstery was n’t tacky charge card or established cloth , but a rubberized fabric like that used in wet suit . Not much impairment could be done if guests flopped down wearing their dripping swimwear .
chock - shaped profiles with low front ends and high decks had become received fare on cars of every streak , but nothing on the market displayed as steep a forward-moving slant as the Ford Splash concept auto .
Much of it was trick , though , as the car actually sat fairly level to the ground . A big bubble windshield correspond the curved back window . And if you need more than a breath of that ocean air , you could remove the windows , roof dialog box , and hatch to let in all the atmosphere you could handle .
As the snow fly , however , windows and a roof would vocalize sensible indeed , and you may have want to tack them on as you packed skis into the Splash for a jaunt to the slopes . Yet summertime or winter , guard was part of the Ford Splash construct motorcar figure concept , with its constitutional roll coop and four - point harness seat belt for each resident .
The 1988 Ford Splash concept car had more interesting design feature that marital mode and safety . Go the next Sir Frederick Handley Page to learn about them .
For more on concept cars and the production models they forecast, check out:
1988 Ford Splash Concept Car Design
Though the hypothesis behind the 1988 Ford Splash concept railcar design was wild adventure , the little machine had some very sensible features .
High - mounted , high - intensity drive lamp , for example , were retractable for daytime running , but could be permit out for nighttime off - roading . Mud flap moved upwardly , out of the way during off - road travel , but could be lowered for highway driving to protect the auto ’s body from stones and mud .
A variable ride - altitude system adjusted to beseem a change of conditions , so that around town or rolling down the highway , the Ford Splash concept car could be lowered to the level of an ordinary car . Pull off the road and onto the desert , and it would quickly lift to give the bring ground headway that was demand to preclude penetrate on harsh terrain .
Just about every auto fancier has scribbled down a figure or two for a aspiration cable car of some variety – often during high - shoal study period . Very few of them ever get an chance to let the products of their imaginations take literal conformation ; certainly not under the auspices of a major auto manufacturer . Yet that ’s exactly how the Splash add up into creation .
The Ford Splash conception gondola was created not by a multi - member professional design team , but by a quartet of transportation students at the industrial design department of Detroit ’s Center for Creative Studies . Assigned to the labor by Jack Telnack , Ford ’s Vice President of Design , the students were asked to " design and build a fomite they would care to use year around as well as on a summer weekend . "
Work began in the spring of 1988 , with the hiring of the four student – Brad Baldonado , Chris Gamble , Warren Manser , and Ricky Hsu – who devoted their summertime vacation period to creating a vehicle .
The students were give plenteousness of freedom to decide on the eccentric of vehicle they wanted , how big it might be , and the design theme . Only one real goal was suggested : that it be " elastic , vernal , exciting and just plain fun . "
Ford wanted to see a fomite that might appeal to a unspecific spectrum of immature and incoming - level driver , not just to a narrowly focused mathematical group . Like everyone involved in the auto industry , Ford values the youth market .
The under-25 crowd ’s outlay power and untapped brand dedication ca n’t be ignored . Everybody wants to attract that segment of the market , but not everyone seems to know what might appeal the most . Splash , was one potential solvent .
To learn how Ford executive went from desiring a vehicle that would appeal to the under-25 demographic to in reality building one , go to the next varlet .
1988 Ford Splash Concept Car Development
The Ford Splash concept car exploitation process buzz off down to business concern in September 1988 , with construction of the image . This was a joint endeavor of Ford and the Autodynamics Corporation of America .
Autodynamics , a prototype engineering firm located in Detroit , had work out on other Ford concept vehicles . Also assisting in the growing process were several regular suppliers to the Ford imperium , include Goodyear and Kelsey - Hayes .
Although created with the anticipation that it could become a full operational vehicle with all - wheel ride , the Splash that toured the automobile appearance in 1989 carried no railway locomotive at all . Just a body on wheels , which had to be rolled into the display expanse .
The Ford Splash conception railway car was not the only conception fomite on the automobile show racing circuit without an engine . conception cars tended to be just mock - ups of plastic , fibreglass , and other quickie material , create to display a impudent form and little else .
One must realize that the purpose of the Splash was not to test hardware , but to try out public response . If it hap to draw enough attending to guarantee a drivable version – well , that could always come later .
Which raised the motion : Would the Splash or a nigh - clone emerge as a 1990s edition of the dune buggy that proliferate a decade or two earlier , especially in the western province ? Probably not , most thought , at least for steady main road operation ; but they go for that the introductory idea just might take hold . Ford was n’t the only car maker to make out up with a " fun " car to revel motorcar - show audiences ; the Plymouth Speedster andPontiac Stingerwere also on the show circuit .
With interest in off - roading climbing , a loud little fomite aspire at America ’s younger drivers could have conceivably caught on as a new status symbol . If not , it might have at least gotten some of those younger motorists cerebrate about just what it was that they wanted to see most in a individualized machine .
Not many are potential to be taken as seriously as the four students at the Center for Creative Studies . But a look at what they accomplish in the Ford Splash conception railcar might instigate a few modern - day Giugiaros and Pininfarinas to take playpen in hand to come up with some saucy foundation for self-propelled fun .
For details on the specifications of the 1988 Ford Splash concept gondola , go to the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
1988 Ford Splash Concept Car Specifications
Aimed directly at the desired 18- to 25 - year - old demographic , the 1988 Ford Splash concept machine was a blueprint – and marketing – exercise . As the 1988 Ford Splash concept cable car specifications below show , Ford believed a lightweight and sporty vehicle was one wave of the time to come .
maker : Ford Motor Company , Dearborn , MI and Autodynamics Corp. of America , Detroit , MI ; educatee design , Center for Creative Studies , Detroit
Body design:4 - rider , 2 - door runabout
Powertrain layout : all - wheel drive
Wheelbase:93.0 inches
Overall length:143.0 column inch
Overall width:70.0 in
Overall height:58 inch
Track , front:53.0 inch
Track , rear:53.0 inch
Weight:3100 pounds
Approximate price : not useable
locomotive engine type : none
Displacement ( liters / cubic inches):not usable
Horsepower @ rpm : not useable
Torque ( lbs./ft . ) @ revolutions per minute : not available
Fuel delivery : not usable
Transmission : not available
abeyance , front : adjustable ride altitude
Suspension , rearward : adjustable drive stature
brake : not available
1988 Ford Splash Concept Car Performance
Top speed : not useable
0 - 60 mph : not available
Quarter - mile : not available
miles per hour @ poop - mile : not available
NOTE : The Splash was a design employment only , with no engine .
