In recent years, Ford Authority has spotted a handful of Blue Oval models that aren’t sold in the U.S. roaming American streets, which always raises eyebrows. That includes the high-performance Ford Puma ST on more than one occasion, as well as both last-gen and current-gen versions of the Transit Custom van. However, Ford Authority recently spotted something arguably even more interesting than those Blue Oval models – a Ford Ka StreetKa – roaming the streets of Michigan.
The Ford Ka is a subcompact passenger car that was introduced for the European market back in 1996, and it hung around for a total of three generations – until 2021, in fact, at which point it was discontinued. However, the roadster version of the economical and affordable city car was far more interesting.
Dubbed the Ford Ka StreetKa, this interestingly-named machine came about in 2003, and was based on the SportKa and intended to be a stylish, fun little open-air machine perfect for cruising around the city on fair-weather days. If it doesn’t look like something that Ford would typically produce, well, there’s a good reason for that – the StreetKa was designed by the legendary Italian firm Pininfarina, the same outfit that has churned out some of the most beautiful automobiles to ever grace this earth.
Due to its unusual styling, the Ford Ka StreetKa did present owners with a bit of a problem – they had to physically get out of the vehicle to operate its manual top. Otherwise, the interior looked much like the regular Ka’s, though it also sported a pair of roll bars behind the seats. Power came from a 1.6L four-cylinder churning out 95 horsepower and 100 pound-feet of torque, mated to a five-speed manual transmission only. As for this specific StreetKa, it’s likely someone’s personal vehicle, as it was discontinued following the 2006 model year and was never sold in North America. Regardless, it’s certainly cool to see this obscure machine tooling around on U.S. roads.
We’ll have more on the Ford Ka soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Ka news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
Mighty cute little car. I wonder how it would do at a popular vote car show?
Its got some bettle and audi tt looks to it
This could have passed for an Aprils fools photo shop
🇬🇧My Daughter had the car. 95hp, a wheel at each corner, gearbox and steering were considered like all British developed Fords under the guidance of Welshman the late Richard Parry-Jones to not only be the best, but the very best . He was generally regarded as the worlds finest “chassis” man
On shear roadholding and “ chuckability” there was little to match it at any price.
Sadly the cars anyway were rather prone to the rust bug.
Aimed at the ladies. Ford got Kylie Minogue to advertise these.