Ford Sends Four Custom Fusions to SEMA

With the 2012 SEMA show right around the corner, Ford has given a handful of examples of its brand-new-for-2013 Fusion to various tuners to have their way with. This isn’t the first time Ford has commissioned some of these companies to mess around with its cars—no fewer than nine Mustangs got the custom treatment at SEMA two years ago—nor is it the first time a Fusion has been worked over for SEMA. But this marks the first year that the new Fusion has been dolled up for a trip to the strip and these four examples show the subtle—for Vegas—and, well, extreme ends of the tuning spectrum.

MRT Performance Fusion

MRT Performance’s Fusion (pictured above) gets a menacing black paint job with contrasting blue on the hood, the roof, the side mirrors, and the wheels. Sporty-looking hood vents are added, although we question their functionality. The bespoke wheels are aggressively offset and a lower stance adds to that effect. An Eco-Flow exhaust adds some bark, and the stock 240-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four takes care of the bite.

Ice Nine Group Fusion

Ice Nine Group took the looks of Australian V8 Supercars and applied it to their Fusion—sadly, their Fusion still has just half the cylinders of its muse. This car retains the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and front-wheel drive, and it’s the only Fusion that Ford’s sent to SEMA with a manual transmission. Ice Nine’s Fusion is given a lowered race car–like stance and a look-at-me vibrant green paint job—not to be confused with Ford’s own Gotta Have It Green as was the V-6 Mustang we recently tested— accented with black stripes on the hood, black wheels, a black rear spoiler, black side mirrors, and a large Monster Energy logo on the side. Corporate sponsorship is a big part of racing, even if the series is imaginary.

Tjin Edition Fusion

When Tjin got through modifying its Fusion, there wasn’t a whole lot of the original car left. The beige paint is the most obvious of the non-factory add-ons, but the tuner also added a 3dCarbon lip kit, a Webasto sunroof, and aftermarket headlights and fog lights. The interior is redone by Katzkin interiors, and it gets a Scosche sound system. Performance from the 2.0-liter four-banger is boosted with a Unique Fabrication/Vibrant turbo kit with a custom MagnaFlow side-exhaust system. Falken tires wrapping 21-inch wheels, a Baer big-brake kit, and Pedders coil-over suspension upgrades keep the performance well rounded.

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• Comparison Tests: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs. 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
• First Drive: 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6 and 2.0 EcoBoost
• First Drive: 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid

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3dCarbon – Air Design Fusion

Dubbed the “Euro Series,” this Fusion—equipped with all-wheel-drive and the 240-hp, 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder—gets dressed up with 3dCarbon’s body kit, new wheels, and the car gets lowered. A black roof accents the white paint job and makes this Fusion look very classy.

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Oscar González Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried