Mad as a badger: it's Ford's Ecosport Storm!

It's safe to say the Ford Ecosport isn't a car that enters TG office conversation frequently.

Until today, that is. The Sao Paulo motor show may lack the glitz and glamour of Geneva or LA, and subsequently lack those shows' supercars and questionably doored concepts, but it's turned up a few little surprises.

Following Dacia's nifty pick-up comes the Ecosport Storm. It may have nicked its suffix from VW's tasty 90s coupe, the Corrado, but the similarity stops there. All other inspiration appears to be straight from Ford's crackers F150 Raptor pick-up.

Note the big, mouthy grille with huge FORD lettering. The rugged underbody protection. The bold alloy wheels wearing tough, nobbly tyres. And then there are those wheel arches...

All in all, it's an Ecosport wholly unsuitable for cat food shopping or school runs, unless those two tasks lie on the other side of a small desert.

If you're thinking ‘I bet that thing will fly with a V8!' you need to quell your excitement, though. It appears its titchy little engine bay is only good for housing three- and four-cylinder units. Boo.