You’re looking at a Ford Fusion that’s been modified using so many exotic lightweight materials that it tips the scales at just 2635 pounds, or about as much as Ford’s subcompact Fiesta hatch. (The last production Fusion we weighed rang in at at 3474 pounds.) A curb weight of less than 2700 pounds is unheard of in this vehicle class, and we haven’t seen a sub-3000-pound mid-size Ford sedan since the first-gen Taurus in 1986.
Ford says that its lightweighting efforts reduced mass in the suspension and unsprung parts by 30 percent, the interior and glass by 35 percent, and the powertrain by 24 percent. Overall, the Lightweight Concept is 25 percent lighter, which lead engineer Matt Zaluzec told us should help Ford achieve an almost numerically identical improvement in fuel efficiency.