Ford once considered creating the most bizarre sports RV that was also an office
- Ford Unitron was designed by Dean Beck, the same man who designed the Mercury Cougar
- It was a rear-engined RV with a large cabin
- The cabin was large enough to double as office space
Published on May 24, 2024 at 12:15 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on May 24, 2024 at 6:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Automotive history is an encyclopedia of quirky, unusual, and wild prototypes and this, the Ford Unitron, is probably one of the most interesting, as well as one we often forget about.
Some people may have never heard of it, but Ford was seriously considering putting this RV into production.
And this is actually more than an RV.
It’s an RV that also doubles as an office.
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In the late 1950s, a company executive believed that what Ford really needed was a large, practical, and comfortable RV.
So he pitched the idea to then Vice President of Design George Walker, who greenlit the project and hired Dean Beck, the same man behind the Mercury Cougar, to design the RV.
What he came up with was this, a futuristic-looking RV that’s also an office.
Unveiled in 1961, the Ford Unitron had strange proportions because every element of the design was a bit unorthodox.
For starters, it was a lot lower than it looks in the pictures, only 56 inches (142 cm) tall, which is why Beck looks like an NBA player standing next to it in this photograph (below) from the Ford archives.
The engine was at the back, which allowed Beck to push the cabin forward, and this also explains the wraparound all-glass section for the windshield and windows.
The idea was to use this vehicle as a means of transport, but also as a movable, portable office space.
Unsurprisingly, the project never really went anywhere, and Ford never made a production model.
It wasn’t a bad idea, though.
It was probably just a little bit too much, too early, and way ahead of its era.
Ironically, in 2024, this idea is perfectly in tune with the times.
So many companies – including Tesla – are working on self-driving cars and when you’ve got an autonomous vehicle that doesn’t need a steering wheel or a driver’s seat, it means you’re left with a lot of available space.
That’s why we’ve got Ford filing patents to turn the frunk into a living room and aftermarket companies turning Mercedes vans into private jets for the road.
It’s such a shame that the Unitron will never be able to join this particular trend.
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