The 2001 Ford Forty Nine was equal parts Detroit concept vehicle and ’50s California Kustom.
When the Ford Forty Nine made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in January of 2001, it couldn’t exactly be pigeonholed: Here was a 50/50 mix of contemporary concept vehicle and classic West Coast custom. But that might not be so surprising, given that the Forty Nine’s principal designer was leading hot rod builder Chip Foose. The multi-time Ridler Award winner was commissioned by design chief J Mays to reimagine the 1949 Ford, one of the Dearborn carmaker’s most important and memorable cars.
Rolling on 20-inch custom billet wheels, the Forty Nine had not one factory ’49 part on it, we can safely guess. While there was a hint of the original’s instrument panel in the concept’s single gauge cluster, the cabin was LA’d to the max, as they say, with a full-length console and four individual, contoured bucket seats in constrasting orange and black leather. While Foose is best known for his over-the-top hot rod builds and his TV show, Overhaulin’, he’s worked with the OEs, too. As a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he was the original designer of the 1997 Plymouth Prowler.
While Foose duplicated the distinctive shoebox silhouette of the ’49 Ford, the Forty Nine’s projector-beam headlamps and LED tail lamps merely suggest the original’s styling. Under the hood you won’t find a 24-stud flathead, but rather the Jaguar-designed 3.9-liter DOHC V8 used in the 2002-05 Thunderbird, paired with a five-speed automatic transmission. And of course, the full-length glass roof is pure 21st century.
Ford still has the original Forty Nine Concept in its show car inventory, as far as we know. But a second Forty Nine was also created, this one a dark red convertible. Strictly a display piece, it was constructed without an engine or drivetrain. The ragtop version made a lap or two through the collector-car auction circuit and currently resides in a private collection.
I can recall my first glimpse of the Forty Nine which was accompanied by a fervent hope that it was about to become a product offering.
You and me both. I was ready to buy one when I first saw it. The red convertible is just gorgeous, too!
There’s a bit of the ’49 in the rear shoulders, but without even a hint of the spinner grille, it just isn’t. I should know. My dad owned a ’49 fordor and I grew up in the backseat.
I have to wonder if this would’ve done better if they’d built it instead of the retro Thunderbird, since this was a 4-seater. There is and was then an extremely limited market for 2-seaters not named Corvette or Miata.
Much like the retro T-Bird this simply misses the mark for me.
Mac – I dispute that Chip Foose was the designer of the Plymouth Prowler, that honor belongs to Kevin Verduyn who was the Design Manager of the Chrysler Pacifica Design Studio in Carlsbad, CA. He had a sketch he had done of a “hot rod” that Bob Lutz and Tom Gale, Chrysler executives, had noticed on one of their visits to the Carlsbad studios and asked him to “develop it” a bit more. The ultimate result was the Plymouth Prowler that was built at the Chrysler Connor Ave. facility. Kevin and Craig Love, VP of Chrysler Engineering, drove Job 1 off the “line”.
Kevin was a graduate of the College of Creative Design in Detroit.
Foose may have “customized” a Prowler but he did NOT design it!
BTW Kevin was a personal friend and, sadly, died in 2021.
Ford had two Forty Niners on display next to the turntable presenting the 2002 Thunderbird at the State Fair of Texas Automotive Building. The crowd was four or five deep around each Forty Niner and I heard a LOT of “If they made this, I’d buy it today”, which I’m certain caused Ford reps taking notes more dyspepsia than a Fletcher’s Corn Dog.
Nobody was near the Thunderbird turntable while the booth babe gave her bullet point presentation, and I was there quite awhile, as my family had three early birds and Dad had an interest in the ’02 for an hour or two.
Put me down for a new Forty Niner. My first (new to me) car was a pretty straight ’49 Custom two door. Still got it, and I need to build another flathead to freshen it up again.