Open wide… and fill it up

OPEN wide… to gain easy access to Ford’s all-new B-Max!
The carmaker has created a unique door system which it claims gives unrivalled access to the B-Max’s interior.
The Easy Access Door System has the central pillars of the car built into the doors themselves. This gives unobstructed openings of one and a half metres on each side, more than double most rear door openings. The ease of access is claimed to reduce the stress of getting into and out of the vehicle.
“Door systems like this have been a designer’s dream for many years,” said Stefan Lamm, exterior design director, Ford of Europe. “We have taken the concept from an idea on a designer’s sketch pad, to a stylish and versatile product on the showroom floor.”
“We set ourselves the challenge of re-imagining the small car,” he added. “People are struggling with the spatial challenges of city driving and we wanted to find a new solution.”
In developing the concept, a team spent several days observing drivers in their daily routine to understand exactly what customers really wanted in a compact car.
Engineers then took on the challenge of producing a safe and practical vehicle which would meet those needs. They moved the high-strength body-structure from the central body pillars and integrated it directly into the doors to ensure excellent crash protection, particularly in the event of a side impact.
Special ultra-high-strength steels, which provide up to five times the strength of conventional mild steel, were used in key parts of the body and doors to create an extremely strong and stiff structure without adding extra weight.
The process involved intense testing and analysis at every stage. More than 1,000 detailed computer simulations were conducted over three years to optimize side impact crash performance; each simulation taking 24 hours to complete and using the equivalent computer-power of eight high-end PCs. These simulations were then tested in the real world through a further 50 physical side impact crashes.
“We engineered the body to keep all the benefits of the new door concept, while making the structure strong, stiff and light,” said Darren Palmer, product development quality director, Ford of Europe. “Creating a strong, stable body is great for handling. The B-MAX is just as stiff as the latest Fiesta, and will be just as fun to drive too.”
The B-MAX interior is packed with features which take maximum advantage of the Easy Access Door System. The rear seats and the front passenger seat can be folded flat to create a large, convenient load platform, to accommodate everything from bicycles to flat-pack furniture.
“The door concept means you can load really large items, more than 2.3 metres long, through the side doors,” said Ernst Reim, chief interior designer, Ford of Europe. “This makes a trip to the furniture store, or even a day at the beach with your surfboard, more realistic.”
The All-New Ford B-MAX will debut at Geneva next month and go on sale in Europe later in the year.