Ford 4-Trac Concept Introduction
Ford discontinued the Ranger from the US market quite some time ago. However, before discontinuing it they actually released a few concepts which previews what could have been done. Unfortunately none of these concepts actually made it into production which is a real shame. One of these cars was the Ford 4-Trac Concept. This was a medium size rear wheel drive truck based on a new chassis that wasn’t used before on any other car. This was supposed to become the new Ranger for the US market but unfortunately it never really happened. Why? Well, Ford decided the renamed Mazda truck was more than enough. On top of that they eventually released a set of smaller engines for the F-150 truck which made the Ranger obsolete.
What is it?
The 4-Trac was a four-door pickup with a lot of futuristic accents all around it. Even though it was released back in 2005, it featured things that are just becoming the standard for today’s medium size trucks. As we said, it was based on a bespoke ladder-frame chassis and it was intended as a replacement for the Mazda-sourced truck.
source:edmunds.com
The truck didn’t weigh much more than the Mazda but it had a larger payload and it was also quite a bit larger. Despite that it looks considerably sportier and it featured a lot of lifestyle upgrades over what the usual truck had to offer.
The design of Ford 4-Trac Concept
The Ford 4-Trac Concept had a unique styling at that point in time. This was actually eventually used in some of Ford’s other vehicles such as the Explorer Sport Trac or even the Ranger. It had a chromed grille with three horizontal slats, full LED headlights which incorporated the blinkers as well as the high and main beams. On top of that the truck boasted a sporty design with an aggressive bumper, a sculpted hood and flared fenders flares front and back.
source:edmunds.com
The bed of the concept was fully modular with a lot of storage spaces and a fully modular tailgate that allowed the passengers to get in and out of the bed with ease. Just behind the cab the truck had a rollover bar which was stylized in order to look like it was part of the cab instead of looking just like an afterthought. The 4-Trac also had 17 inch light allow wheels wrapped in high performance off-road tires. The silver mirrors, headlights surrounds, bumper inserts and tailgate insert really set it apart from the rest of the trucks on sale at that time.
The interior
At that time Ford decided to keep the cabin of the 4-Trac hidden as it was nothing more than just a concept. However, more than 10 years after it was released it is safe to assume it had an interior mostly based on that of Ford’s other vehicles at that time.
source:edmunds.com
In fact, considering its design has been seen on the Ranger and the Explorer, there is no reason not to think the Ford 4-Trac Concept had a really similar cabin to these other two cars.
Engine
While today we see 300 to 400 horsepower trucks on a regular basis, this wasn’t a common occurrence back in 2005. In fact the 4-Trac concept had a 3.0 liter naturally aspirated V6 offering 220 horsepower. Rumors also suggested at the time that the 4-Trac was going to be released with a larger 3.5 liter engine with closer to 250 horsepower. Both of these were actually not part of Ford’s older Cologne-range of engines.
source:edmunds.com
Instead, both of them were actually brand new Duratec designs that were more efficient and more reliable than their predecessors. No matter the engine though, the 4-Trac was supposed to be offered only with an automatic gearbox and either rear or four wheel drive.
Ford 4-Trac Concept Gallery
