First picture of all-new Ford Ka

The first official picture of the brand new Ford Ka has been released, giving us an insight into future of Ford’s smallest car.

It comes ahead of the Ford Ka’s official launch at the Paris Motor Show in October, where it will be unveiled in front of the world’s motoring press.

View our Ford Ka slide show

When it goes into production it could be built alongside the Fiat 500 at the same Polish production line and it’s rumoured it will share some underpinnings with the Fiat supermini.

But it’s clear from the photo there is no similarity in the way the cars look, except for their size.

View our Fiat 500 slide show

While the Fiat 500 has a retro design, the new Ford Ka will be cutting edge with modern sharp lines and rakish proportions which follow Ford’s ‘Kinetic’ design language – first seen in the new Ford Mondeo.

The Ford Ka will complete the ‘Russian doll’ Ford model line-up, with Ka, Fiesta, Focus, C-Max, Mondeo, S-Max, Kuga and Galaxy all sharing a recognisable design theme.

It will have a lot to live up to - the original Ford Ka was a huge success for Ford, with around half a million sold in the UK alone.

It became popular thanks to its daring styling, and was a hit with young drivers – Wayne Rooney even had one as his first car.

But the model desperately needs replacing, having been launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1996 and featuring engines and an interior which are now dated compared with the competition.

The all-new Ford Ka will feature small and efficient petrol engines and a small diesel.

We expect all of these to achieve more than 40mpg, and several models to emit less than 100g/km of carbon dioxide, making them tax exempt.

Prices should start at around £8,000 when it goes on sale early in 2009.

The latest Ford Fiesta has just been launched at the British International Motor Show alongside the 300bhp, WRC inspired, Ford Focus RS.

View images of the Ford Focus RS and new Fiesta from the British Motor Show

It has been a busy year for Ford – the Ford Kuga, it’s first small off-roader for years – also went on sale this year and we were impressed by its when we got to test drive one for a week .

A facelifted Ford Focus and Focus ST were launched too, with a more Mondeo-like nose and some interior and mechanical updates.

Check out our British International Motor Show round-up video: