Will the Future Ford F-150 Look Like This?
Three talented students look to the past to determine the future of the world’s best-selling pickup.
Of its many offerings, there’s no question that the Ford F-150 is the most critical to the Blue Oval’s continued success. After all, we’re talking about a truck that Americans scoop up to the tune of roughly 800,000 per year. And the Ford F-150 is the most critical component of the F-Series lineup, which has dominated sales in this country for decades. So it goes without saying that when it comes to the Ford F-150, the future matters.
That’s why Ford turned to a group of 16 students attending the Detroit-based College for Creative Studies last fall to create their own vision of what the next generation of the F-150 should look like. The project, dubbed “Future Truck,” asked students to consider the history and evolution of the truck before embarking on their quest. Then, the group was set loose to unleash their fresh perspectives on the future product.
And now, Ford has chosen three winners from the group of 16, whose works were highlighted by Wired. In addition to a $3,000 scholarship, the winner’s designs are gracing the eyes of industry executives. Which, of course, could prove to be a real career boost. The most interesting thing about these three works, however, is just how different each is from the next.
The first, Song “Daniel” Yixuan’s adventure/sports Ford F-150 (pictured at top), is something we could see in production today. It borrows quite a few styling cues from the current Raptor, yet takes things a step further with autonomous technology and a bed equipped to carry things like skis and hang gliders.
On the other (far) end of the spectrum, you’ve got Josh Blundo‘s super futuristic single-seater Ford F-150. Imagining a future where dense urban areas ban large trucks, this design centers on functionality. It incorporates things like extending arms on the sides to aid with loading and unloading cargo.
Seung Woo “Chris” Song’s idea of the future Ford F-150 is similarly downsized. But even with a super sleek appearance, what wowed the judges was his idea for revolutionizing the purchase process. The truck isn’t intended to be bought in one piece, but rather as a fully customizable, modular platform.
As interesting (and plausible) as the Future Truck exercise seems, don’t expect to see any of these trucks at your local dealership any time soon. “These were pretty far-reaching concepts,” admitted Craig Metros, Ford’s head of exterior design for North America. “These guys were probably thinking 30, 40, 50 years out. But an eye on the future is always a good thing.”
