Ford Fusion Gets New Design for 2013 NASCAR Season

Two weeks ago, Ford has been released its 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup contender at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and it is in the form of the all new Ford Fusion.

NASCAR is looking for a manufacturer to identify between new cars and the fans, that is why this year's Fusion is a little more unique than its predecessor. NASCAR officials have worked closely with each of the four NASCAR manufacturers who build NASCAR-eligible cars to ensure that the new designed Sprint Cup car does not deviate too far from their street legal counterparts.

The NASCAR Fusion shares a lot of styling cues with the street version, notably the hood line, front grill and headlight design.

This time around the design process was very different for the Ford team, “We started going back to our design community and nosed around with guys that have been with the company the longest and we can’t remember the last time designers have been involved with helping NASCAR,” said Ford Racing NASCAR Operations Manager Andy Slankard.  “This time, we have had the luxury of support from the Ford Design Center to give us these sleek shapes and new look. Only designers could do that, not a bunch of engineers or race car guys.”

It is a bit of a departure from the last NASCAR Fusion, which basically was like the productions FUSION thank you to its  graphics package. This became the case with all the contenders of NASCAR, and the result is a NASCAR wide initiative to make cars more beautiful and identifiable for the 2013 racing season.