Ford hopes the stylish Futura will revitalize its passenger car lineup

Ford Motor Co. today will pull the wraps off a new model with an old name -- the Futura -- in a bid to reenter the family sedan race with a car that competes with the likes of the Honda Accord.

The Futura, to be unveiled at the New York International Auto Show this morning, will arrive in 2005 and be badged as a 2006 model.

Four- and six-cylinder gasoline versions will launch the new line. A hybrid gasoline-electric version will follow, possibly a year later, as Ford’s second such entry (after the hybrid Escape sport utility vehicle that will hit the market next year as an ‘05).

The Futura, developed from a modified Mazda 6 design, is part of Ford’s efforts to revitalize its passenger car lineup after years of depending on sales of pickups and SUVs.

The production model of the Futura will borrow design cues from the 427 concept shown this year at the Detroit auto show, including a grille inspired by Ford sedans of the 1960s.

Ford says the Futura will offer the automaker’s new 2.3-liter inline-4 engine as standard and a 3.0-liter V-6 as an option. The company plans to offer manual, automatic and continuously variable automatic transmissions.

The hybrid version, which mates the 2.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 65-kilowatt electric motor, will be introduced after the two gas-only models are launched. It will be capable of operating in fully electric mode at low speeds as well as using the electric motor to augment the gas engine for acceleration or hill climbing.

Ford says the Futura hybrid’s performance will approach the level of the V-6-equipped model with fuel economy that bests that of the standard four- cylinder gasoline version.

Pricing has not been disclosed, but the hybrid model is expected to be the most expensive of the three.