The 10 Most Awesome Classic Fords From the Official Heritage Collection

Ever since its establishment in 1903, the Ford Motor Company has produced numerous iconic, historically important, and groundbreaking automobiles. Surprisingly, however, Ford lacked an official archive for their historical models within the U.S. up until quite recently. Now, though, they've created the Ford Heritage Fleet and welcomed people to view some of these exceptional vehicles at their facility in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ted Ryan, who serves as the Ford Heritage brand manager, detailed how the collection came into being. During his visit to England last year, CEO Jim Farley was impressed by the Heritage and Innovation Centre located in Daventry. This center honors Ford’s legacy in the UK through an extensive archive of documents and over one hundred automobiles.

The visit led Farley to send an email to his American counterparts, urging them to develop a vehicle archive documenting the brand’s legacy within its homeland. Starting with nothing established, as Ford had never maintained their fleet systematically, the team embarked on building this collection afresh. Ryan initiated work by drafting a “collections policy,” which outlined criteria for selecting vehicles worth keeping and those that should be discarded, along with critical rationales behind these decisions. Subsequently, they gathered various automobiles—discovering some stored in warehouses and hidden at the rear of manufacturing plants, while others came through generous contributions from devoted Ford enthusiasts.

The purpose of the Heritage Collection is not to establish a museum but instead to assemble a group of cars that can help narrate the Ford story via marketing campaigns and various promotional endeavors. This collection, located behind an inconspicuous entrance at the company’s main offices, serves multiple roles: it aids employees like designers seeking inspiration and makes appearances at significant gatherings, including the Woodward Dream Cruise.

The U.S. fleet will be integrated with the U.K. archives along with collections in Germany and Australia, which are focused onFord’s country-specific initiatives. Additionally, Ford plans to utilize this fleet for documenting key vehicles and intends to add further content regularly. Heritage Vault website , an extensive online repository of images, press releases, and pamphlets covering virtually every car model produced by Ford up till the early 2000s.

When we stopped by, there were approximately 50 vehicles on display, and although almost every car had something noteworthy to say for itself, we narrowed down our highlights to just these particularly fascinating cars from the lot.

1999 Ford Mustang V-10

This silver Mustang This prototype boasts an unconventional powertrain, equipped not with the typical V-8 but rather a 5.8-liter V-10 engine created by a secretive development group concurrently working on the 2005 GT model. This move aimed at potentially going head-to-head against the ten-cylinder Dodge Viper. Constructed from two 4.6-liter V-8 engines, engineers sliced away the first two cylinders of one unit before joining them onto another. As Ford lacked a specific electronic controller for this new configuration, they utilized dual independent controllers—each managing half of the cylinder banks—as though operating individual inline-fives. According to reports, despite lacking specialized tuning equipment, the vehicle remains operational, delivering approximately 400 horsepower and apparently excelling during aggressive starts.

2007 Ford Airstream Concept

The shiny Airstream concept was built in collaboration with the famous camper/trailer company of the same name, meant to emulate Airstream's iconic chrome mobile homes. The futuristic exterior—with cameras instead of sideview mirrors and asymmetrical doors—hid an equally forward-looking powertrain called HySeries Drive. This experimental setup was a plug-in-hybrid hydrogen fuel cell, which drove the wheels via electric motors and replenished the battery by either the hydrogen fuel-cell system or plugging into a charger.

2000 Ford Ranger EV

The F-150 Lightning wasn't Ford's first crack at an electric truck. In fact, the Ranger EV, built from 1998 to 2002 and largely leased to fleet customers, was Ford's first production EV. The unassuming bodywork hid a single rear-mounted e-motor and a nickel-metal hydride battery weighing 2000 pounds. Ford says this Ranger EV still works and currently has a range of about 40 miles, down from around 82 miles originally. Even cooler, the Ranger EV's original charging equipment has been preserved, showing just how far EVs have come in two decades.

Ford GT Mk II

Of course, Ford had a whole array of GTs, including the first three preproduction models for the 2005 GT—VINs 001 through 003—as well as a 2017 model with exposed carbon-fiber bodywork. But the coolest was this GT Mk II, a version designed exclusively for racing tracks of the GT That took inspiration from the knowledge gained through competing against the GT in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Created in collaboration with Multimatic, just 45 units of the Mk II were manufactured, each priced at $1.2 million.

2009 Lincoln C Concept

The Lincoln C concept This venture into smaller vehicles marked an uncommon move for the luxury marque, suggesting the possibility of a sleek compact hatchback aimed at upscale markets. Its flowing exterior showcased a distinctive stepped tail-end design—a nod perhaps to the early 2000s Renault Mégane—but the interior truly stole the show with its refined ambiance. Key highlights included a front bench seat, a uniquely designed hollow steering wheel, extensive use of wooden accents, and intricately embroidered floral patterns adorning the upholstery. Lincoln imagined this model equipped with an EcoBoost 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine capable of delivering approximately 43 miles per gallon. However, despite these ambitious plans, the Concept C did not progress beyond the prototype stage; instead, Lincoln refocused their efforts solely on SUV sales moving forward.

2004 Ford Bronco Concept

Ford had considered bringing back the Bronco well ahead of its 2021 arrival. The boxy 2004 concept made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show, featuring a square profile coupled with a compact wheelbase for an iconic look. Bronco The engine compartment housed a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel coupled with an advanced four-wheel-drive system. Ford also highlighted a nitrous oxide injection system designed for brief increases in power output. This concept version of the Bronco would go on to appear in various shows and events. Rampage alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R

The Cobra R One of the most scarce high-performance models from Mustang’s lineup is this particular variant, produced in an exclusive series comprising only 300 cars. Its striking exterior package featuring a domed hood, pronounced frontal spoiler, and sizable rear wing signaled the presence of the powerful 5.4-liter V-8 motor beneath. This unit was capable of delivering up to 385 horsepower along with 385 pound-feet of torque via a robust six-speed stick shift transmission. To reduce overall mass, Ford stripped away amenities like the infotainment system, climate control, and even removed the backseats. Additionally, they enhanced both the handling dynamics and braking performance making sure the Cobra R would be the definitive racing-focused version of their iconic pony car.

2001 Ford Ranger Thunder Strike

This beefy Ranger The Lightning Bolt is an exclusive prototype pickup truck that features the supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 engine from the second-generation F-150 Lightning installed beneath the hood of Ford’s mid-sized vehicle. This powerplant delivers 420 horsepower along with 480 pound-feet of torque. Given that the Ranger weighs approximately 1000 pounds less compared to its larger counterpart, driving the Lightning Bolt promises to be quite exhilarating.

2003 Ford 427 Concept

A number of cars in Ford's lineup feature large engines, and the 427 concept It is no different. Despite having similar front-end styling as the first-gen Fusion, this particular sedan concept featured a robust 7.0-liter V-10 engine under its hood. Extensive utilization of aluminum for components like the block, pistons, and cylinder heads resulted in the V-10 being almost 70 pounds lighter compared to the V-8 from the Cobra R model. Powering the rear wheels with an impressive output of 590 horsepower was achieved through a six-speed manual transmission system.

2007 Ford Interceptor Concept

We'll conclude with yet another powerful, rear-wheel-drive, manual-transmission sedan concept, the 2007 Interceptor Once more, the design of this concept had an impact on a production vehicle—the 2008 Five Hundred which later became known as the Taurus. Unfortunately, the Interceptor’s “Cammer” 5.0-liter V-8 engine from Ford Racing did not find its way into the final product. Sharing the same platform with the Mustang, the Interceptor could run on E85 fuel, delivered 400 horsepower, and came equipped with a six-speed manual transmission.

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