Ford Fusion loses 25% of its weight in lightweight concept version

Ford Motor Co. has unveiled a new lightweight concept sedan, containing technology destined for use across the automaker’s lineup.

The Lightweight Concept started life as a 2013 Ford Fusion, but lost 25% of its weight through the use of high-strength steel, aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber.

The resulting vehicle -- about 900 pounds lighter than a standard 3,600-pound Fusion -- weighs about the same as a Ford Fiesta, an economy car two classes down the Ford lineup. Ford expects the weight loss will translate directly into efficiency gains.

“This is a midsized sedan with the fuel efficiency of a very small car,” said Matt Zaluzec, the Ford executive responsible for global materials and manufacturing research.

All automakers are trying to cut weight to save fuel, but few are pursuing the strategy as aggressively as Ford. Cutting weight can have a big impact on efficiency because it allows smaller engines to produce the same performance.

Indeed, Ford installed its tiny 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine in the Lightweight Concept, the same engine that is rated at up to 45 mpg in the much smaller Fiesta hatchback.

So far, Ford has built just six of the Lightweight Concepts, and they aren’t for sale. But Ford has already made a huge bet on weight-saving technology with its latest Ford F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in America. The truck, redesigned for 2015, shed 700 pounds through extensive use of aluminum throughout the body.

The aluminum allows the truck to “tow more, haul more, accelerate quicker and stop shorter, with improved gas mileage,” according to Ford.

Using aluminum on such a high-volume seller will help Ford bring down the price of the technology for use across its lineup.

“We’re making the jump from low-volume to high-volume vehicles,” Zaluzec said. “You’ll start to see aluminum start to migrate to other products, too.”

Ford would not say when a lightweight Fusion might make its way to showrooms, nor at what price. The standard Fusion starts at $21,970, about $7000 more than the much smaller Fiesta.

Ford has apparently committed to the weight-saving strategy, said Don Anair, research deputy director of the clean vehicles program for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Automakers have a number of strategies for increasing fuel economy, and lighter weight materials is one of the key strategies,” Anair said. “Ford has been showing some leadership there.”

One key advantage: Saving weight in one part of the car makes it easier to do so elsewhere.

“Moving around a lighter vehicle allows you to use a smaller, more efficient engine,” Anair said.

Ford also systematically shaved weight from other systems in the concept Fusion.

The suspension and brakes, for instance, lost 30% of their weight through the use of aluminum brake rotors, along with hollow steel springs and stabilizer bars. Ford then installed tall, skinny carbon fiber wheels, at 19 inches tall but just 5 inches wide.

The interior lost 35% of its heft, in part by using carbon fiber seat backs and interior components.

The already tiny powertrain lost 24% with the use of an aluminum engine block, hollow steel crankshaft, and aluminum and magnesium transmission parts.

Carbon fiber parts also show up in places like the oil pan and engine cover. New methods of composing glass for windshields have also helped shed weight.

“We’ve reduced the weight of the body, the chassis and the power train -- taking weight out of what is a very weight-efficient vehicle to begin with,” said Zaluzec. “That makes it possible to put in a smaller engine, which adds to the weight loss. It’s a cascading effect.”