2000 Ford 24.7 Wagon Concept
In January 2000 we were all breathing a sigh of relief that the Millennium Bug hadn’t actually caused all the world’s computers to crash and the planes to fall from the sky. And in Ford’s ever-fertile design hub, there was no time to dilly-dally or rest on any laurels; they were right onto the next big thing and, somewhat improbably, they managed to predict the existence of apps a full seven years before smartphones arrived. The vessel for that impressive prediction was the car you see here, the radical 24.7 concept.
2000 Ford 24.7 Wagon Concept
THE FORD VAULT Celebrating weird and wonderful models from Blue Oval history
Words DANIEL BEVIS
Photos FORD MOTOR COMPANY
There was an interesting and ambitious aim underpinning this car, and that was to help its owners to manage their time more effectively – something which perhaps sounded a little peculiar at the time, but makes a lot of sense in the Tesla era. Designed as an SUV, a coupé and a pickup truck, this family of concepts sought to furnish its occupants with twenty-four-seven access to a world of information. Developed in conjunction with tech pioneers Visteon, it featured a bunch of things that sounded properly sci-fi back then – including a ‘Voice Activated Reconfigurable Projected Image Display’, which was infinitely customisable taking commands in a variety of languages.
Further voice commands would allow you to make phone calls, browse the internet for traffic and weather updates… and when you bear in mind that this was in an age when you could still wander into a dealership and order a brand new Ford Escort, you can imagine how this was truly mind-blowing stuff. And the exterior styling? Well, take a look at the 2003 Honda Element and tell us that’s not basically the same design.
