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FORD FORTY-NINE
Euro-hip. Cutting-edge. Devastatingly cool.
 If you'd never thought of Ford as being a purveyor of the sort of racehorse-sleek image vehicles that garner this sort of breathless acclaim, then think again; the stunningly attractive Forty-Nine, Ford's latest concept car, could very well change all that in one fell swoop. And swoop this car does, with graceful lines that connote speed and power.
The Forty-Nine's countenance gets its styling cues by looking back to the award-winning 1949 to 1951 Fords. The '49 Ford was an instant hit when it was introduced in New York in June 1948, attracting 1.3 million orders even before it officially went on sale at dealerships. So admired was its design that the car won the prestigious Fashion Academy Award in 1949, repeating that honor again in 1950. The original '49 featured a slab-side design, with front fenders, body sides and rear quarter-panels forming an unbroken line from head- to taillights. Its grille was simple, and its greenhouse was balanced. Throughout the '50s, the car was a favorite of hot-rodders, who souped up the engine, reshaped the body to make it sportier and reworked the suspension to achieve an altered ride.
"The inspiration for the Forty-Nine concept comes
 from the passion and excitement of the original, combined with the imagination of people across America who customized the car and turned it into what they thought a really great car should be," says J Mays, Ford Motor Company vice president of design.
"The concept melds together many of the custom car designs from the 1950s as well as elegant cues and shapes from some of the great Italian designers, such as Ghia."
The Forty-Nine's sheet metal takes the concept of "smooth" and kicks it up a notch, with a seamless appearance that's achieved thanks to an all-glass upper body structure with totally concealed pillars and windshield wipers. Elegantly minimalist, the car boasts a velvety black exterior finish, with chrome snaking around its greenhouse and brightening its badging and wheels. Viewed from the front, the car entices with a spare yawn of a grille and rounded high-intensity-discharge projector-beam headlamps. From the rear, the Forty-Nine's narrow LED tail lamps have the sleek, futuristic look of a pair of wraparound Ray-Bans.
Inside, the Forty-Nine continues to honor its celebrated ancestor's simple design cues, with a spartan black-and-caramel-toned cabin. The car's power-actuated front seat is bench-style and cantilevered off the central "floating" console structural member, and both its front and rear seats are of black leather, with caramel leather seat backs. Upper door trim panels, along with the instrument panel and package tray, are also accented by caramel leather. The Forty-Nine's floating center console spans its length, splitting the cabin and giving the impression of four-passenger bucket seating, while also serving to stiffen the vehicle's structure. The floating console houses the five-speed shift lever and ventilation for both front and rear seat passengers.
On the dash, the "retro, reinterpreted" theme continues, with primary gauges contained within a single round instrument binnacle -- similar to the production '49 and hot rods of that era. A two-tone leather-wrapped steering wheel features cruise and radio controls on a metal ring, and is similar to the "horn-ring" popular in the 1950s.
Look under the Forty-Nine's hood,
 and you'll see that things are just as pleasing to the eye in the engine compartment as they are elsewhere on the vehicle. The engine bay is trimmed in satin black metal, chrome and stainless steel surfaces. Intake manifolds are finished in satin metal and valve covers in glossy black, accented with polished stainless steel. But the bay's got more than just good looks going for it. The Forty-Nine is powered by the 2002 Thunderbird's 3.9-liter DOHC 32-valve V8, tuned to fit the car's appearance and refined muscle.
Ford is said to be developing a special niche of "heritage" cars, to include the likes of the new Thunderbird, the upcoming redesigned 2004 Mustang and other modern vehicles influenced heavily by the past. Does this mean that the Ford Forty-Nine will soon be headed for a dealership near you? It's certainly within the realm of possibility. These days, more and more concept cars are becoming reality, and it doesn't take a genius to see that the Forty-Nine is one pretty package that's more than equipped to find itself an audience.
The concept's pitch-black exterior finish with subtle chrome accents and totally concealed pillars give it a hyper-smooth exterior appearance. A floating center console runs the entire length of the interior, and four power-activated bucket seats seem to hover above the floor.
The Ford Forty-Nine is powered by a Thunderbird 3.9-liter, DOHC, V-8 engine.
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