Ford Explorer Concept news - Ford enters 'Boost phase - 2008

The Ford Explorer is most definitely American. 

For a start, it's officially called the Explorer America. And it has an onboard compass, in case you get lost out in the woods. It even has a table and chair that slide out from the tailgate, in case you get tired on your walk round the back of the car from the driver's seat. 

But here's the thing: it doesn't have an American engine. In fact, it's got a piffling two-litre four-pot. Two litres? Most American lawnmowers displace more than that. 

It's all part of Ford's new green philosophy, a philosophy that's going to be achieved through something called EcoBoost. EcoBoost uses direct injection and turbocharging technology in combination with downsized engines to offer increase power and reduced emissions. 

That means the two-litre engine develops 275bhp and 280lb of torque but, according to Ford, will be some 30 per cent more efficient than its previous generation of engines.

Lighter, smaller engines are being coupled to lighter bodies, too. Ford has dispensed with the old Explorer's ladder chassis in favour of a unibody construction complete with a sliding rear door and curvy glass bits, meaning it weighs in 68kg lighter than the previous generation.

OK, as you might have guessed the Explorer America is just a concept, one we'll get a better look at in Detroit. But expect to see EcoBoost engines entering the Ford range next year... in America at least.