Retro Deadstock
Who says “bigger is better” regarding pickups? Back in 2015, the Special Vehicles Team (SVT) at Ford may have had a premonition about the future viability of mid-size and compact pickups — and it’s relatively safe to say they were on the right track. This Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept sports a sick red paint job that hints at the power underneath the hood. While this red menace might look ready to peruse the downtown strip, it packs a punch better suited to drag racing than the city center.
Images Courtesy of Barrett Jackson
Only The Boss on Board
While today's pickups boast a cacophony of various ridges and lines, Ford's '05 SVT concept vision places a premium on flat planes. Chunk fenders are one of the few details busting out of this design, with the truck's headlights and taillights smoothly enclosed, giving the vehicle its cube-like vibe. That symmetry isn't an accident — in fact, the goal of this truck was to design a four-seater truck with four doors and a four-foot bed.
Retro Kicks
Even in 2005, drivers could do more with a four-foot truck bed than the trunk of a small crossover. Nevertheless, the truck's small cargo hold is another tip-of-the-cap to its race-ready pedigree. That said, this beefed-up Sport Track was still the genesis for various styling cues that would reappear on mass-produced Ford trucks, among them trim-level badging embedded in the truck bed.
No Cap / No Facade
If the truck's race-inspired seats aren't enough to get you thinking about racing, the truck's 4.6-liter SOHC V8 engine will. This Ford SVT concept's powerplant was taken from an '04 Ford Cobra and mated to the same six-speed automatic transmission that went to market with the Lincoln Navigator from that year. That combination isn't just fit for respectable speeds but also impressive towing power.
Don't Worry 'Bout the Rivals
The Ford Sport Trac Adrenaline model debuted in 2005 at the New York Auto Show. The truck featured short-arm and long-arm front suspension and an independent blade-style rear suspension. By including SVT-tuned shocks and front and rear stabilizer bars, Ford engineers hoped to deliver a controlled yet aggressive driving dynamic that would allow the truck to rival the era's performance sedans.
Keep On Chill
From its supercharged V8, lockable trunk compartments, and dual rectangular exhausts, a lot of features from this 2005 concept would find their way into later Ford truck builds, notably the recently reintroduced Ford Ranger. Style cues and performance power were just a few of the ways the vehicle "adrenalized" the compact pickup market while helping to further influence the next generation of speedy trucks that remained practical for everyday use.
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