Ford Power Stroke Concept is ’90s Nostalgia on Six Wheels

Curvy and retina-searing concept combined outrageousness of Hot Wheels cars and Mustang DNA to give us glimpse at future.

Back in 1994, Ford was in the middle of its latest generation of F-150 trucks, which were still square-jawed, handsome rigs. But it was hard at work behind the scenes creating a concept that embodied its vision of its future design direction. When the Blue Oval was done, it unveiled the one-off in this throwback YouTube footage from King Rose Archives: the Power Stroke Concept.

Yes, Ford built this. If we didn’t know any better, we’d think Hot Wheels made it. Just look at it. For starters, it’s not only bright yellow, but it also seems to have a pearlescent finish. If that’s not a paint job a six-year-old would love, we don’t know what is.

And let’s not forget the lines. They’re certainly futuristic, considering how comparatively boxy F-Series trucks were at the time. The Power Stroke Concept is almost all curves. They start at the front. The pointy headlights sit inside of a colored strip that flows over the Power Stroke concept’s thick-lipped upside-down chrome “mouth.”

The sides of that maw flow back into the strips of bright work that extend across the doors to the flared hips and around the back end. Ford went with a dually body style, but they managed to make that look completely different from its existing DRW F-350s by – we’re guessing – throwing out their rulers and bringing in an expert in clay sculpting. Even the running boards are devoid of right angles.

The Power Stroke Concept is not just odd because it’s a curvy truck. It’s unusual because it has visible Mustang DNA in it. The massive front fog lights look straight off a Fox Body. That Mustang connection is even more apparent at the rear. The three bars of the taillights are stacked horizontally and separated by colored plastic, similar to the taillights on 1994 and 1995 Mustangs. In a preview of things to come for America’s beloved pony car, the small dual exhaust finishers fit under cutouts in the rear bumper – a look that would become more familiar with the 1999 “New Edge” Mustang GT.

Although the Power Stroke Concept is visually odd and unorthodox, it’s easy to see the influence it had on the softer-edged 1997-2004 F-150. Too bad we had to wait until 2018 for the F-150 to get a Power Stroke diesel under its hood.

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Derek also contributes to other outlets. He started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get even more automotive content out to fellow enthusiasts.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.

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