StreetKa Gives Kylie Fever

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 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 the 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

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
17-19 May 2002 Glasgow SECC
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

SOURCE Newstream