COOL AND COMFORTABLE INSIDE

The Explorer Sport Trac concept's all-new interior features four-bucket captains' chairs in a roomy cabin. A strong foundation from the F-150 and the Explorer led design of the two-tone Light Ice Blue and Midnight Navy interior. The cool colors emphasize urban style and street rod simplicity.

The Light Ice leather seats are trimmed with navy embossed mesh on the seat backs and inserts, and the color palette is repeated in trim touches throughout the cabin, including the front and rear center console, headliner, door trim panels, instrument panel and shifter. The Sport Trac concept's shifter is moved to the floor for a performance-oriented look and feel.

A strong center stack and dominant oval instrument binnacle define the Sport Trac interior.

The instrument panel is defined by a strong center stack, and a well laid-out, dominant oval instrument binnacle containing the primary gauges, including speedometer and tachometer. Audio and climate controls are in the instrument panel center, and geometric shapes for the air registers are trimmed with polished aluminum accents.

Form and function are crafted to be intuitive to users of the interior systems. Door handles, for example, are shaped as circular elements that are positioned where the hand naturally falls when the arm is on the armrest. A simple forward lean then activates the door latch mechanism.

SIMPLE LINES FOR STREET ROD STYLE

The Explorer Sport Trac concept is nearly five inches longer, two inches wider and sits two inches lower than today's current Sport Trac model. The dropped posture combines with massive 21-inch gunmetal wheels and a ground-effects look to give a dominant, low and fast appearance.

The Sport Trac concept is offering a lot more, but with lines that increase the crossover truck's sophistication. Racing cues are incorporated throughout, including two side scoops located just in front of the A-pillar and well-integrated twin hood scoops in the powerdome area.

	The Sport Trac concept's front end features a cross-hatch grille milled out of aluminum and dual HID projector fog lamps for a bold, aggressive look.

A strong grille milled out of aluminum includes very pronounced "nostril" racing cues and holds a boldly-sized badge to strike an aggressive balance. Paired high-intensity projector fog lamps held in aluminum bezels continue the power effects look.

Surfaces appear simple and sleek, and the concept's Moonlight off-white tri-coat color lets design subtleties show through in touches like the fender flares, which contribute to the street rod stance. Modern, simple and elegant themes emerge in details like the structurally integrated running boards that pull together the Sport Trac's long wheelbase with its distinctive silhouette.

In keeping with the theme of modern elegance, no exterior door handles mar the sides of the concept; instead, a touch on the vehicle's key fob opens the door from outside.

STREET-SAVVY FRONT TO REAR

At the rear, the Explorer Sport Trac concept incorporates a spoiler look to give the sense of speed and dynamics, but does so with a subtle reshaping of the top lip of the cargo box. Below, flush taillights draw truck lineage from the F-150. The pickup hallmarks are repeated in the flared box sides of the cargo bed to mark the Sport Trac as part truck, part SUV.

Power cues remind observers that this is a performance vehicle, in the form of strong, bright exhaust pipe extensions from the rear. Also dominant, is a strong rear logo with an integrated badge that aligns with taillamp graphics.

Sport Trac's color-coordinated cargo bed shows the utility of the vehicle and thoughtfulness of design. Hatches open into "saddlebag" compartments on either side of the cargo bed to offer storage in a previously unused area. Crafted-in sockets allow a user to drop in a 2x4 board to make an elevated cargo surface capable of holding 4x8-foot sheets of material.

Increased height makes the load bed about 30 percent larger than today's model for increased cargo capacity, while the Sport Trac concept also has an available swing-over tubular bed extender that dramatically increases the ability to haul oversized cargo. A cargo box power point increases support utility for anything from tailgate parties to construction projects.