Just imagine if the futurist and visionary Syd Mead had designed a concept vehicle. Now here it is: the 1966 Ford Ranger II. 

To followers of design, Syd Mead (1933-2019) hardly needs introduction. His Wikipedia entry describes him as “an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens, and Tron,” and that’s a pretty fair start. We would add that he was also a car guy. According to his official biography at Syd Mead.com, transportation design was “his first love.”

A 1959 graduate of the Art Center School in Los Angeles (today the ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena) he was immediately recruited by Ford’s Advanced Styling Studio under studio head Elwood Engel and styling VP George Walker. But no single company was big enough to hold his far-ranging interests, and after two years there he struck out on his own to perform commissions for U.S. Steel, Sony, Phillips, and other major clients. Among his countless projects in industrial and cinematic design was this one for his former employer, the Ford Motor Company, in 1966: a concept pickup called the Ranger II.

Ranger II was a Ranchero-style pickup on a 120-inch wheelbase, but with a number of futuristic twists. Instead of doors, there was a split canopy that hinged forward for entry and exit, and by flipping a few panels, the truck featured both a standard and an extended cab. As Mead himself described it, “The small rear ‘cab’ roof slid back, a rear seat unfolded and a ‘filler’ section with window rose into position. This meant that, sacrificing bed length, the vehicle converted electrically from a bench seat, three-passenger vehicle into a five-passenger close-coupled club sedan/truck.”

Constructed on a 1963 Ford full-size station wagon frame and chassis, the Ranger II was powered by a 390 CID V8 with three two-barrel carburetors. According to the Ford press materials, the amenities included “contoured bucket seats and a host of options including power steering, tilt-away steering wheel, SelectShift Cruise-O-Matic transmission, AM/FM radio and a SelectAire air-conditioner.”  The Ranger II spent a few years on the American and European auto show circuits, and then, like so many historic concept vehicles, disappeared from sight.