The Ford Maya is a concept car designed and built by Italdesign for Ford. It debuted in 1984 at the Turin Motor Show. The Maya was designed to test the waters for a 2-seater, targa top sports car for the U.S. market. Ford had planned to put the Maya into production, building 50 units per day (about 12,000 per year), and as such, the concept was built to be fully functional. The design was criticized for being too similar to the Giugiaro designed Lotus Etna concept unveiled that same year.
The Maya is powered by a mid-mounted Ford V6 engine producing 140 hp (104 kW; 142 PS). This was a placeholder for a Yamaha co-developed 3.0 L V6 engine producing 250 hp (186 kW; 253 PS) that Ford had intended to put into the production model. That power is sent to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission. The Giugiaro wedge design gives it a drag coefficient of 0.28 cx. It was built for the U.S. market, and it features a soft plastic, deformable front bumper. The interior features twin leather bucket seats, space for luggage behind the seats, and most of the buttons for car controls mounted on the steering wheel. In 1985, after the first Maya concept had been unveiled, Ford requested that a second car be built, called the Maya II ES.
Source: Ford Maya - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Maya
Images: ItalDesign
