Before 4x4s and SUVs, the Ford Model T was the ultimate off-roader

In the days before four-wheel drive and off-roading, if you wanted to get your wheels dirty driving a car, the Ford Model T was the best option.

The Ford Model T is known throughout the world as the first ‘proper’ production car that ordinary people could afford.

That doesn’t mean it was geared up for struggling through the mud, though.

Still, whilst it wasn’t as practical – or as readily available – as a horse would have been those days, it wasn’t without its advantages.

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Even before cars had really taken off and become the global phenomenon that they remain to the present day, people were out carving their own paths with their automobiles.

Because the Ford Model T – first released in 1908 – was the vehicle that brought car ownership to the masses, this off-roading capability was something of a necessity to start with.

Simply put, the roads hadn’t quite caught up yet.

The car that changed the world

So, if you were lucky enough – as many were – to own a Model T, the chances were that you’d have been driving on dirt tracks or worse.

Roads were narrow, they could be waterlogged easily, and many had been churned up by the sheer volume of horse traffic.

That meant that the cars had to be able to find a bit of traction somewhere, and the Model T – for the time – was absolutely no slouch.

You see, Henry Ford had designed the car to meet the requirements for these conditions, making his most popular model to date capable of surviving the conditions that it would be needed in.

Much like the Tesla Cybertruck, or the Ford F-150, it was designed to handle the elements.

Sure, it might not have been able to climb mountains as if they weren’t there like this Toyota Land Cruiser, or take on a Porsche in a drag race, but it must still have been mightily impressive to those pioneering car owners of yesteryear.

How the Ford Model T proved itself

As part of the advertising campaign for this remarkable car, Ford had the Model T take on some challenges, including traversing Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Britain.

On the steep and often snowy slopes, the Ford Model T proved it was a match for Mother Nature.

Within two years, almost a third of all cars in Britain were a Model T.

Even though it had no four-wheel drive, no huge mud-ready tires, and relatively primitive suspension, the Model T was light, it was nippy, and – crucially – it was up for the challenge.

In many ways, this revolutionary off-roading machine walked so that the 4×4 cars of the future could run.