2001 Ford F-150 Lightning Rod

The Ford F-Series trucks have been sold continuously for over six decades, the most popular variant being the F-150. So popular was this truck, in fact, that it was the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 24 years as well as the best-selling truck for nearly 35 years. Based on the eighth generation F-150 Ford pickup, the Lightning Rod concept evokes, in the words of the manufacturer, the “passion of muscle cars of the 1960s, the hot rod industry and the current body art craze.”

Lowered and stretched, the Lightning Rod was given a one-inch chop to its roofline, a raked windshield and hidden wipers. Twin horizontal neon headlamps flank a recessed aluminum grille. The horizontal light theme carries through to the taillights, which are also neon tubes. Cherry red metallic paint gives it a sleek, hot rod look.

A leather-wrapped tonneau cover is die-cut with a traditional tattoo of the native New Zealand Maori tribe. Moko, a specific type of Maori tattoo, features shallow, colored grooves in complex curvilinear patterns, originally produced by striking a miniature bone adze into a person’s skin. In some native cultures, tattoos are thought to ward off sickness or misfortune; others use them to signify the wearer’s rank or status. An elegantly-tattooed face was frequently a great source of pride for the warrior. The Maori theme carries through to the leather bucket seats and headliner. Twenty-inch, five-spoke cast aluminum wheels carry radial tires with a tread pattern matching the tonneau cover tattoo.