Wikipedia

Ford 021C

The Ford 021C is a concept car first shown to the public at the October 1999 Tokyo Motor Show by Ford. It was designed by Marc Newson and built by Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Italy.[1] The car's name is taken from the Pantone orange colour, said to be Newson's favorite,[2][3] although it was repainted in lime green[4] when it was brought to the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2000.[5] Ford officials stated that 021C also stands for "21st Century."[6] Although it was produced purely as a styling exercise and was not intended for production, the 021C has been called "one of the great 'what-ifs' of recent car design history."[7][8]

Ford 021C
Ford 021C in green at the Petersen Automotive Museum
Overview
Production1999 (concept)
AssemblyGhia
DesignerMarc Newson, Laurens van den Acker
Body and chassis
ClassConcept city car (A-seg)
Body style4-door sedan
LayoutFF
Powertrain
Engine1.6 L Zetec-SE
Transmission4 speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,485 mm (97.8 in)
Length3,601 mm (141.8 in)
Width1,648 mm (64.9 in)
Height1,430 mm (56.3 in)

Design

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Ask children to draw a car, and they'll draw something like this, so in many ways the 021C is a familiar and comfortable object. But it doesn't use many typical automotive design cues, and while it does incorporate some interesting technology, it's not technology used simply for the sake of it.

— Marc Newson (1999), Ford Press Release[9]

The design was commissioned by Ford's design director J Mays,[10] who selected Newson after seeing his Lockheed lounge chair in a Madonna video for the song "Rain."[11][12] The result was a four-door saloon in what Newson termed a "retro-futurist" theme, similar to the predictions made of Year 2000 automobiles in the 1960s.[11] Mays quipped "It's probably more George Jetson than Georg Jensen" at its unveiling.[9] Ford pitched the concept at young buyers (21 years old and younger) who "want quality products which express their individuality.[9][13]

The exterior and interior shapes echoed prior Newson designs for round-cornered rectangular dish racks,[14] furniture[15] and spoke-and-hub lamps.[11][16] The concept also incorporated many innovations in the interior such as four seats, with the front two seats swiveling on pedestals;[17] a jewel-like dashboard that moved vertically to accommodate drivers of differing heights;[17] and, when the light was switched on, an electro-luminescent film glowed snowy white across the ceiling.[17] The dashboard dials were built by Newson's Ikepod watch company[17] and the steering wheel was reminiscent of his 1997 Alessi coat hook.[18]

Exterior features included a slide-out boot, suicide doors and LED lamps front and rear.[17] The front and rear lamps were created by Jonathan Coles for Isometrix Lighting.[19] The car was painted green after its unveiling in Tokyo and, unusually for an old prototype, has continued to be shown again at various art exhibits.[20]

Specifications

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The 021C is powered by a 1.6 L Zetec engine producing 100 PS (74 kW; 99 bhp) driving the front wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission.[21] The 16" alloy wheels were fitted with bespoke graphite coloured Pirelli tyres.[17] The body of the car was constructed from carbon fiber composites[2] and was designed with minimal surface ornamentation.[17]

The car was 3,601 mm (141.8 in) long, 1,648 mm (64.9 in) wide and sat on a wheelbase of 2,485 mm (97.8 in).[17] It is 19 mm (0.75 in) shorter than the contemporary first-generation Ford Ka city car.[22]

Reception

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021C in green at the Gagosian Gallery in NYC in 2011

After its 1999 unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Show, automotive critics generally panned the design, with one self-deprecatingly calling himself "old and out of touch"[23] and thus unable to appreciate what was perceived as a toy-like, naïve box. Others noted the sharp divide in opinions between "traditional" automotive styling critics and design professionals, who hailed the unified concepts in the design.[24] Jonathan Glancey, writing for The Guardian, said at the time that most "contemporary car design is about as interesting as watching magnolia paint dry" and called the 021C "an eye-catcher", noting that "[it made] everyone who saw it smile."[22]

In 2009, ten years after it was first unveiled, critics revisited the design of the 021C and found the design had aged well, still appearing sleek and modern.[2][25][26] Alex Kierstein, writing for Automobile in 2020, noted influences from the original iMac G3 and called it "ahead of its time ... had Newson penned the Ford 021C today, maybe it could have been recast as a small production EV", comparing it to contemporary small EVs such as the Fiat New 500 and Honda e.[27][28]

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A car similar to the Ford 021C received a parking citation from newly minted officer Judy Hopps in the movie Zootopia.[29] J Mays is credited as the chief car designer for the film.[30][31]

Exhibited

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Newson, Marc (2012). Marc Newson : works. Alison Castle, Louise Neri. Köln: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-0807-0. OCLC 811596219.
  2. 1 2 3 Argyriades, Marcia (October 1, 2009). "Ten years later // FORD 021C by Marc Newson". Yatzer. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Roux, Caroline (November 17, 2001). "Master of his universe". The Guardian. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Espinosa, Cathryn (May 24, 2001). "Inside job: Ford 021C". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Ford 021C by Marc Newson at Milan Furniture Fair: The interplay of design, fashion & stylish mobility" (Press release). Ford Motor Company. April 11, 2000. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001.
  6. ↑ "1999 Tokyo Motor Show, Part III". The Car Connection. October 20, 1999. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ King, Toby (October 2007). "The best cars they never made". Auto Express. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ Booth, Michael (April 7, 2025). "A round-up of eight architects' vision for automobiles". Monocle. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Reaching out for a new generation of consumers" (Press release). Ford Motor Company. October 20, 1999. Archived from the original on July 15, 2001.
  10. ↑ L., Skott (September 26, 2009). "Ford 021C by Marc Newson". Design Year Book. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Patton, Phil (October 28, 1999). "CURRENTS: CAR DESIGN; Wheels for 2000: The Details Count". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Henrietta (April 28, 2015). "Newson's Lockheed Lounge breaks world auction records". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  13. ↑ Gewertz, Ken (February 28, 2002). "Driven by design: J Mays brings the romance of the road back to auto design". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Dish Doctor: Marc Newson, 1998". Magis Design. 1998. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Wooden Chair". Cappellini. 1992. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Orotund: Designed by Marc Newson". Flos. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Design and Technology Meet in the Ford O21C" (Press release). Ford Motor Company. October 20, 1999. Archived from the original on July 15, 2001. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Marc Newson". Design Museum. November 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Lighting 021C". Jonathan Coles. September 1999. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Patton, Phil (September 29, 2010). "Ford 021C Concept by Marc Newson Reappears at Gagosian Gallery". New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Ford 021C Concept". Archivio Prototipi (in Italian). Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Glancey, Jonathan (November 1, 1999). "Shrink and drive". The Guardian. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  23. ↑ Davis, Tony (October 28, 1999). "Ford goes back – or ahead – to the retro-future". Drive Australia. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  24. ↑ Lewin, Tony; Borroff, Ryan (2010). How to Design Cars Like a Pro. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Motorbooks. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-7603-3695-3. Retrieved December 2, 2016.  Newson was delighted to take up the task and immediately set to work, determined to figure out better ways of approaching design than those he had been studying in car magazines and books. Yet when the fruits of his labours were unveiled in Tokyo, the automotive world caught its breath: finished in bright orange and named after both the Pantone colour of that hue and the upcoming new millennium, the 021C emerged as a tiny, naive and toy-like box, devoid of external detail or ornamentation. [...] Many commentators dismissed it as an expensive joke, the kind of car caricature a child would draw.
     [...]Yet the real significance of the 021C was the way it divided the critics on sharp, sector-dependent lines. The product design community applauded it for its purity and harmony and the way that it presented a fully integrated design conceived as a whole by a single individual: Newson is said to have designed every detail, right down to the carpets and tyre treads. Car critics, on the other hand, had difficulty grasping its significance, focusing on its naivetè rather than innovative features such as the swivelling front seats and pull-out trunk compartment.
  25. ↑ Johnston, Wade (December 4, 2009). "Design Friday, a look back to the future from 1999". Modular 4 KC. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  26. ↑ "The small car as an object of desire". Financial Times. April 11, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  27. ↑ Kierstein, Alex (December 2, 2020). "The 1999 Ford 021C Concept: Born Too Soon?". Automobile. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  28. ↑ Noe, Rain (November 16, 2023). "Marc Newson's 021C Ford Concept Car has Aged Extremely Well". Core77. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  29. ↑ "1999 Ford 021C". Internet Movie Cars Database. 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  30. ↑ Kiley, David (March 21, 2016). "The Cars Of 'Zootopia' Come From One Of The Auto Industry's Best Minds". Forbes. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  31. ↑ Shayotovich, Eli (January 20, 2023). "This Ford Concept Car Made A Surprising Movie Cameo More Than 15 Years After It's [sic] Debut". SlashGear. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  32. 1 2 "The Ford 021C concept car designed by Marc Newson". www.carrozzieri-italiani.com. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  33. ↑ Hales, Linda (January 8, 2000). "Design". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Marc Newson: Transport". Gagosian Gallery. September–October 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Marc Newson: At Home". Philadelphia Museum of Art. November 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
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