Ford beleives that a motorized version might just make the best crossover. To grab some attention at the Detroit Auto Show, Ford’s Advanced Design team out in sunny SoCal has come up with a futuristic Airstream concept with seats for seven and a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell for power.
About the same size as Ford’s new Edge crossover, the concept takes the streamlined fuselage look of an Airstream and combines it with a touch of X-1 rocket plane from The Right Stuff and an interior that’s straight out of Kubrick’s cult classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Too bad they didn’t go for an authentic Airstream-style riveted aluminum body it’s regular old steel.
But Ford Advanced Design boss Freeman Thomas says they went one better by working with suppliers to come up with the first application of a unique reflective paint that looks exactly like aluminum. “We did include 12 rivets in the body just to pay homage to Airstream’s iconic construction,” explains Thomas.
A prize goes to the first show-goer to spot where they are. If the neon-bright orange paint that frames the windows looks familiar, Thomas says it’s the same color as Chuck Yeager’s legendary Bell X-1 high-altitude rocket plane that’s on display in the Smithsonian.
“My memories of Airstreams have always been seeing the NASA astronauts arriving at the launch site and stepping out of their Airstream trailer,” he explains. You climb aboard through a roof-hinged, power clamshell door that runs two-thirds the length of the body. Lipstick red fabric covers the lounge-like seating that wraps around the cabin. Up front, driver and passenger sit in retro, pod-shaped captain’s chairs that swivel to face rearwards.
The focal point of the cabin is this wild, cylindrical LED video screen that can project everything from DVDs to virtual ‘mood’ effects, like a log fire and lava lamp. Taiwan-based DynaScan Technology Inc. makes giant versions for malls and exhibitions, but this is the smallest unit they’ve ever created.
Powering the crossover of tomorrowland is a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell. But instead of it being used to drive the wheels, as in a typical fuel cell vehicle, its sole function is to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack. This, in turn, powers electric motors which turn the wheels.
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