There are some interesting tidbits buried in this AutoWeek story about John Coletti's retirement as the head of SVT (which we've already reported).
Ford's SVT leader to retire at year end; automaker says performance group will continue
AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/16/04
DETROIT -- The spirited leader of Ford Motor Co.'s special vehicle team is leaving as the SVT program gets new leadership and an expanded role.
After 11 years with SVT, director John Coletti, 55, will retire at year end.
His retirement follows the Dec. 1 departure of Ford product executive Chris Theodore, who backed Coletti. Ford also appointed a new SVT overseer, chief Mustang engineer Hau Thai-Tang, three weeks ago. Tom Scarpello, longtime SVT marketing and sales manager, moved to a new job at Jaguar in November.
The upheaval at SVT, combined with the absence of SVT products for the 2005 model year, has triggered questions about the future of Ford's performance group. But Ford product chief Phil Martens says SVT is here to stay.
"We've retooled SVT," Martens says. "We've appointed Hau, and we still think that's a growth part of our business."
Within the next four years, SVT will have more products than at any time, Martens says. The group's previous high was three, most recently in the 2004 model year.
The redesigned Mustang Cobra SVT is coming in 2006. A redesigned F-150 Lightning SVT pickup had been in the works, but the project was put on ice this year.
SVT will focus on "affordable performance," Martens says. Increased turbocharging and supercharging are part of the plan. Ford has considered developing an SVT version of the 2006 Ford Fusion mid-sized sedan.
Reviving Focus SVT?
Martens notes that product planners are taking another look at a Focus SVT. Ford discontinued the souped-up compact after the 2004 model year, saying the Focus wasn't upscale enough to sustain a performance version.
The door is open for other uses for the SVT program. Though SVT products always will retain a performance element, the group could develop more fuel-efficient engines that could migrate to larger mainstream vehicles, Martens says.
Ford will provide more detail on coming SVT products at the 2005 New York auto show in March.
Last hurrah
Coletti, Ford's master of going faster, says the SVT group is in good shape as he leaves.
"You have a cycle plan," Coletti says. "You will be putting some very special products on the street, and Ford is backing it."
In addition to the Mustang Cobra SVT, the group is working on a halo car to replace the high-performance Ford GT, the project Coletti considers his last hurrah after 33 years at Ford.
"How can you top this?" Coletti asks. "The GT, to me, is just the crowning achievement in my life."
Coletti, known for his enthusiastic personality, doesn't rule out working for another auto company eventually. But he says he'd have to be offered the chance to work on a car better than the GT.
He wouldn't provide details about the GT's successor. Production of the GT will end in 2006 due to new federal crash regulations that would require a reworking of the car.
Product Editor Rick Kranz contributed to this report.
