In 1990, Ford released the Explorer SUV which we are all familiar with, and which some overlanders have built out for long-term travels. But few are familiar with Ford’s original Explorer model that was made with adventure in mind.
After Dodge’s eye-catching, long-bed Deora’s success, Ford unveiled its Explorer at the 1973 Chicago Auto Show. Ford mimicked the Deora’s design in some ways, with a short, forward-leaning cab and long bed, but gave the Explorer some pizzaz of its own. With an orange exterior, orange carpeting and orange vinyl seats, the mini-truck was impossible to miss.
PickupTrucks.com, says the Explorer was powered by a “mid-engine, 429-cubic-inch V-8 that was shared with the Ford Thunderbird and Mustang in response to customer complaints that the first generation of forward-control pickups lacked power.” According to The Drive, the bed measured 110.7 inches long and 65 inches wide – perfect for a couple to sleep in, side-by-side. Perhaps the most unique and fun feature of the concept was the pop-up tent that could be stored in the cargo box during travel and set up as a shelter at the end of the day.
A fun fact for overlanders, courtesy of PickupTrucks.com: though the 1973 Explorer concept was the first vehicle Ford gave the name to, it was a branding label they had used several years earlier “in 1968 to market a limited-edition “Explorer Special” equipment package for Ford’s pickup trucks. That same year, Ford sent 20 F-Series light-, medium- and heavy-duty pickups on a 3,500-mile trip from the tip of Florida to the tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, plus a 130-mile rigorous evaluation run across Texas to prove how tough Ford trucks were in the wild and when scientifically measured.
Sadly, despite its ingenious overlanding potential, the 1973 Ford Explorer never made it into production.
Source: https://www.overlandexpo.com
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