Ford StreetKa

The Ford StreetKa was a inhouse design built by Pininfarina (the 2000 motor show concept was designed by Ghia, Turin) in Italy and all StreetKas have sill plates inscribed “Pininfarina”. Pininfarina produced 37,076 StreetKas between 2002-2005. StreetKa came in two equipment levels, basic and luxury. Basic had cloth seats and air conditioning was an option. Luxury featured leather seats with matching leather door card inserts, heated seats, a Thatcham approved alarm along with Ford’s PATS immobiliser, air conditioning and heated door mirrors. Options included upgrading the single CD/radio to an in-dash 6 disc CD/radio and additional rear speakers beneath the roll over bars and a heated windscreen, standard on winter models. All models featured remote control central locking with remote boot release, driver and passenger air bags with passengers air bag deactivation, electric windows and door mirrors, electric headlight aim adjustment, anti-lock brakes, power steering, front fog lights, racing Puma aluminium gear knob, electric hood cover release and a rev counter. The engine used in StreetKa (and SportKa) is called a Duratec but it is of South African origin where it is known as the Zetec Rocam. StreetKa features MacPherson struts front and rear and uses unique wider front lower arms (wishbones) giving it exceptional handling. The only exterior panel shared with Ka is the bonnet. The front headlights are also shared with Ka but appear different due to the front bumper covering them partly to change their shape. The interior shares most parts with Ka except StreetKa has its facia painted blue rather than silver. Its seats are mounted lower than Ka’s and it has aluminium effect detailing. In 2005, all Ka models including SportKa and StreetKa received a slightly updated interior, bringing the cabin back up to date, while still retaining the look and feel of the original. Both StreetKa and SportKa received a new 93 hp (69 kW) 1.6-litre 8-valve Duratec petrol engine, whereas Ka, Ka Collection, and LuxuryKa retained the 1.3-litre Duratec petrol engine. The Ford SportKa was noted for its surprising advertising campaign, “The Ka’s Evil Twin”, denouncing the Ka’s traditionally perceived “cute” design. The Ford StreetKa ceased to be officially on sale in late 2006.