The 2006 Ford Reflex Concept was built to prove that a small car did not have to look cheap, soft, or boring. Shown at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, it was Ford’s answer to the idea that compact cars were becoming more important in America, but still needed attitude, technology, and a clear identity. The Reflex used a diesel-electric hybrid layout aimed at high fuel economy. Ford claimed up to 65 mpg, or roughly 3.6 L/100 km. The system combined a small diesel engine driving th

The 2006 Ford Mustang by ItalDesign was a one-off concept based on the fifth-generation Mustang GT. It was designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro after he saw the new Mustang and wanted to reinterpret it through an Italian coachbuilding lens. The project was approved by Ford, built by ItalDesign-Giugiaro in Turin, and revealed at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show. The concept did not try to erase the Mustang’s identity. It kept the long hood, rear-drive stance, fastback attitude, and agg

The 2006 Ford iosis X was a Ford of Europe concept shown at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. It took the “kinetic design” language from the earlier iosis sedan concept and applied it to a crossover body. Ford was clear that it was not a direct production prototype, but it was meant to prepare buyers for a future European niche model. That future model became easy to recognize later: the Ford Kuga. The iosis X had the same broad idea Ford would use in its early European crossovers:

The 2006 Ford F-250 Super Chief was a heavy-duty pickup concept inspired by America’s old Super Chief passenger trains. It debuted in 2006 as a huge luxury truck with locomotive-style surfacing, a massive grille, rear-hinged rear doors, and a cabin built more like a private railcar than a work truck. The powertrain was the headline. Ford fitted the concept with a supercharged 6.8-liter V10 using a Tri-Flex fuel system, meaning it could run on gasoline, E85 ethanol, or hydroge

The 2006 Ford 4-Trac was a rugged pickup concept unveiled at the Thailand International Motor Expo in Bangkok. It was not a Detroit show fantasy. Ford chose Thailand because the country was one of the world’s most important pickup markets outside the U.S. and a regional production hub for Ford one-ton trucks. The 4-Trac was a four-door crew-cab pickup with a rescue-truck theme. It had glossy red paint, rugged aluminum panels, a large vertical front end, Ford’s three-bar grill

Meet The World’s First Minivan 1932 Stout Scarab Prototype Meet The World’s First Minivan: 1932 Stout Scarab Prototype When people think about the first minivan, they usually picture the Plymouth Voyager or the Renault Espace from the 1980s. But the basic formula for the modern minivan already existed more than fifty years earlier. It was called the Stout Scarab. Designed by William Bushnell Stout and completed in 1932, the Scarab prototype completely rethought how cars were

Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, the Ford Explorer Sportsman Concept was one of the strangest SUV concepts of the early 2000s. Built around a fly-fishing theme, the concept transformed the familiar Ford Explorer into something far more stylized and experimental. Ford filled the Sportsman with oddly specific outdoors-focused details. The interior used woven leather upholstery alongside custom Bloodwood trim across the dashboard, steering wheel, floor sla

The MG XPower SV-R, released in 2004, was the top-performance version of the XPower SV. It was powered by a Roush-tuned 5.0-liter, 32-valve Ford Modular V8 that made a claimed 385 hp. Only 82 XPower SVs were built in total before MG Rover went into receivership in 2005. The exact number of SV-R versions is unclear, but only a small portion of the total production were SV-Rs, making them especially rare.

The Ford GTX1 Roadster concept from 2005 was a custom open-top version of the Ford GT, built for the SEMA show by Ford SVT engineering supervisor Kip Ewing. It was inspired by the 1966 Sebring-winning Ford GTX1 race car. The GTX1 used a removable roof system made up of four separate hard panels. The panels could be set up as a full coupe, a T-top, or a full convertible. After the show car debuted, the roof conversion was offered to Ford GT owners through the Genaddi Design Gr

The Ford 3D Carbon Fusion from 2005 was basically a first-generation U.S. Ford Fusion that had been customized with an aftermarket body kit from 3dCarbon. It wasn’t an official Ford concept car built by the factory. 3dCarbon used the Fusion as a show car to show off its front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and other styling parts that gave the sedan a sportier look. These parts were later sold to Fusion owners as add-ons. The car was shown around the mid-2000s at auto shows a

A rare 1983 Ford Probe IV Concept by Ghia has unexpectedly surfaced on Facebook Marketplace, and for car history fans, this is a huge moment. The listing doesn’t show an asking price, but it’s believed this car is one of only two Probe IV concepts ever built. The other example is permanently displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum. When Ford Designed the Future on Purpose The Probe series began in 1979, when Ford Motor Company partnered with Ghia to explore extreme aerody

From wild mid-engine experiments and Italian coachbuilt one-offs to aviation-themed charity cars and record-chasing EVs, the Ford Mustang has spent six decades living a double life: one you see in showrooms, and one that exists in design studios, wind tunnels, and race shops around the world. This article is a complete tour of that hidden history—a chronological guide to Mustang concepts, prototypes, and specials that never made it to mass production but helped shape the cars