Ford's Turn Of The Century Concept Car That Went Retro: The Forty-Nine
The appeal of all things retro can be very difficult to resist. Product designers often like to harken back to the past for inspiration, knowing that doing so can activate potential buyers' sense of nostalgia, like the theme tune from a beloved childhood cartoon. It can work wonders for many other industries, but especially with automakers. After all, is there anything a motorhead reflects on more lovingly than the cars they used to own back in the day?
The early 2000s, the beginning of a brand-new millennium, was a time to both look ahead at what's to come, and keep in mind what came before. It was perhaps in this spirit that Ford made the bold move of unveiling a uniquely retro concept car: the Forty-Nine.
Here's the story of this outlandish addition to Ford's lineup, where the concept came from, what it borrowed from, and how it ultimately fared.
What was the idea behind Ford's Forty-Nine?
The Ford Forty-Nine made its big debut at 2001's Detroit Auto Show. There were some other intriguing vehicles at the illustrious event that year, including the Jeep Willys' with its very eco-friendly recyclable plastic construction, but the style of the Forty-Nine was something different entirely.
The concept car was named after the 1949 Ford. The '49, The Virginia Mountaineer reported in February 1949, won the Fashion Academy of New York's Gold Medal Award, and was thus declared "Fashion Car of the Year." The 2001 concept car, then, needed to honor that fashionable legacy while still bringing something modern to bear.
It delivered not just one such thing, but several: a sleek, curved finish, a roof of glass, and a lot of stainless steel. It's a vehicle that could look right at home parked outside the diners of decades gone by, or perhaps displayed inside some of today's nostalgic establishments.
In an interview shortly after the reveal at the show (via Men and Motors on YouTube), Ford Design's Richard Parry Jones explained that the vehicle was born from the company "trying to crystallize ... some of the outstanding landmarks of Ford's history in North America."
One such landmark, Parry Jones went on, was the 49' Ford itself — which he deemed "a really classic family Ford ... an optimistic, hard-working car of high integrity." Modernizing all of these ideas resulted in the concept Forty-Nine.
Under the Forty-Nine's hood
As a concept car, the Forty-Nine was never intended for mass production. It didn't reach the roads of America or the wider world, but in terms of its power, it could have been quite a match for them. Its V8 3.9 liter engine would be familiar to Ford enthusiasts as a take on the venerable Ford Thunderbird, and it boasted a classic cubic-inch displacement of 239 to boot — matching the V8 engine displacement back in 1949. A retro throwback in more ways than one.
Had things developed differently, the Forty-Nine might well have seen a retail release. As it was, the model was only sold at auctions. In 2010, RM Sotheby's auctioned the red concept convertible Forty-Nine, with the winning bid at $67,100. Another of Ford's more unconventional creations, the Forty-Nine was an interesting addition to the company's story.