Grey Ford Vedette F 492 E from 1951 V8, 2.2 L, max. speed: 110 km/h
The Ford Vedette is a large car formerly manufactured by Ford SAF in their Poissy plant from 1948-1954.
Originally conceived by Edsel Ford and Ford designer Eugene T. “Bob” Gregorie as a “light” Ford model, smaller than the 1942 Ford. However, Edsel Ford died in 1943, and following the war Ford corporate felt the light car project would pull sales from the full size Ford. Additionally, Henry Ford II felt that Gregorie’s planned 1949 Ford, which shared the same character lines as the Light Ford, was too large for its market, as was Gregorie’s proposed 1949 Mercury.
To that end, the planned Ford and Mercury lines were pushed to Mercury and Lincoln, and a contest held to design a Ford that would at once smaller than the Mercury, but larger than the Light Ford. To recoup the cost of Light Ford, that car was transferred to Ford France.
Introduced at the 1948 Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris, it was designed entirely in Detroit (resembling contemporary Mercury models) and featured the Poissy-made 2158 cc Aquillon sidevalve V8 engine of Ford’s Flathead engine family, the same as in pre-war Matford cars.
It was the only French car of its time with a V8 engine.
