 The 1953 October "Mondial de l'Automobile" also saw a luxury version of the Vedette, the "Ford Vendôme", fitted with the bigger 3923 cc "Mistral" V8 engine, previously used in Ford France trucks.Also updated in 1953 was the five-door, five-seat "Abeille" (French for "bee") estate with a two-piece tailgate, advertised as both practical (with a payload of ) and comfortable.The Abeille, originally exhibited with little fanfare at the October 1951 Motor Show as a "farmer's car" "(voiture agricole)" and launched more formally as the "Ford Abeille" in June 1952, was a "no frills" development of the Vedette with which it shared its wheel base and engine, but the rear overhang and therefore the overall length were shorter by The interior surfaces of the Abeille were almost without exception of painted metal, and the front bench seat of the Vedette was replaced with two "rustic" seats apparently taken from a commercial van, but behind them the rear bench was easy to remove, allowing for the installation of a flat "false-floor" of timber planks, and facilitating the use of the car as a load carrier for farmers and small-scale traders.