Out of all the cool concepts Ford has cranked out over the years, these five deserved to see the light of day.
Cool Concepts
Every automaker cranks out concept vehicles every now and then, but Ford does them better than most. And while some of these cool concepts have eventually made it to production in one form or another, sadly, that wasn't the case with these five awesome trucks. But in our opinion at the very least, they certainly should have.
Photos: Ford
2004 Bronco Concept
For quite some time, many hoped that the 2004 Bronco Concept would in fact turn out to be the 2021 Bronco. Thankfully, the 6th gen Bronco is pretty awesome in its own right, but we still love the Tonka truck-like styling of this concept. Unfortunately, surging gas prices and a soft market at the time meant that we had to wait another decade-plus to finally get the Bronco back.
Photos: Ford
>>Join the conversation about these untouched cool concepts right here in Ford-trucks.com.
1999 Himalaya Expedition
The Himalaya Concept, based on the Expedition SUV, was built for the SEMA show in 1999 and traded its rear cargo area for a proper pickup bed, a la the Chevy Avalanche. With an open roof and rugged suspension, it was sort of a full-size second-fifth gen Bronco tribute, and most definitely a cool one. But Ford already sold four-door F-150s at the time, so they probably considered this idea somewhat redundant.
Photos: Ford
>>Join the conversation about these untouched cool concepts right here in Ford-trucks.com.
2003 SVT Lightning Concept
The Lightning was the hottest sports truck on earth back in its time, and people were simply blown away by the 2003 Lightning Concept, which packed a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 producing 500 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, with a proper six-speed manual behind it. Unfortunately, Ford didn't have an automatic strong enough to handle that kind of power at the time, and figured not enough people would want a stick. Thus, the Lightning went away and Ford eventually replaced it with the Raptor.
Photos: Ford
>>Join the conversation about these untouched cool concepts right here in Ford-trucks.com.
1998 Tremor Concept
Back in the '90s, the Explorer dominated the SUV market, so Ford decided to build the Tremor Concept to see if people might be interested in a high-performance version. It was packing some cool stuff, including a 380 horsepower all-aluminum 4.6-liter V8, all-wheel-drive, and an independent rear suspension. The concept was also fully functional. But alas, like many other Ford concepts, this hot SUV was a bit ahead of its time and ultimately never saw production.
Photos: Ford
>>Join the conversation about these untouched cool concepts right here in Ford-trucks.com.
1997 Powerforce Concept
When the Dodge Ram took the world by storm with its tough styling in the '90s, Ford decided to respond by building its own, rough and tumble looking pickup, the Powerforce Concept. This dramatically different truck was also packing V10 power and was intended to hint at the future look of the Super Duty, though a Powerforce Ranger Concept was also built. Ultimately, many of its styling elements did make it to production in the 1999 Super Duty lineup, so we can call this design exercise a success.
Photos: Ford
>>Join the conversation about these untouched cool concepts right here in Ford-trucks.com.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.
