Cyberpunk is out, cars drive themselves, and you can literally buy anything with your phone - that sounds like we're living in the future to me. Also, some of my favorite TV shows, like Seinfeld and The Fresh Prince, are pushing 30 years of age. And that also means trucks from the 1990s can definitely be called "vintage."
Taking advantage of this, rendering artist Oscar Vargas, aka wb.artist20, has put a modern-retro spin on the newly launched 2021 Ford F-150 truck. To be a little more specific, he's bringing back the idea of a Flareside bed.
This used to be very popular in the 80s and 90s, and the rendering seems to take inspiration from a 10th-gen extended cab and apply the look to the ultra-luxurious F-150 King Ranch 4-door of today. This results in rounded off corners for the body of the vehicle, followed by a small gap. It's an attention-grabbing look.
We're not sure what this design change would do to the fuel efficiency of the Ford best-seller, but it would probably not be good. Also, while this rendering encourages conversation around the Flareside comeback, we feel that the execution could have been a little better.
Usually, the bed had a kind of symmetrical look to it, which is lacking here. You had a flared part in the middle, like a dually, and a step right at the front, sometimes at the back as well, which came with plastic steps.
Modern trucks have been getting so tall that some of them come with ladders built into the tailgate. We're also not sure what safety regulations say: can you still climb into a vehicle over the side of the bed? A Flareside with steps sounds like a recipe for lawsuit disaster waiting to happen, which might explain why Ford hasn't brought it back. But just look at this recent SVT Lightning we featured and tell us it wouldn't look boring without the little steps.
This used to be very popular in the 80s and 90s, and the rendering seems to take inspiration from a 10th-gen extended cab and apply the look to the ultra-luxurious F-150 King Ranch 4-door of today. This results in rounded off corners for the body of the vehicle, followed by a small gap. It's an attention-grabbing look.
We're not sure what this design change would do to the fuel efficiency of the Ford best-seller, but it would probably not be good. Also, while this rendering encourages conversation around the Flareside comeback, we feel that the execution could have been a little better.
Usually, the bed had a kind of symmetrical look to it, which is lacking here. You had a flared part in the middle, like a dually, and a step right at the front, sometimes at the back as well, which came with plastic steps.
Modern trucks have been getting so tall that some of them come with ladders built into the tailgate. We're also not sure what safety regulations say: can you still climb into a vehicle over the side of the bed? A Flareside with steps sounds like a recipe for lawsuit disaster waiting to happen, which might explain why Ford hasn't brought it back. But just look at this recent SVT Lightning we featured and tell us it wouldn't look boring without the little steps.