THE FIRST TIME
There is a man who played a fundamental role in the history of the Ford Bronco, the first sport utility vehicle of the American manufacturer, who helped to create its design and made history, becoming one of the first African American designers in the sector. McKinley Thompson Jr., designed the first generation of the Bronco, and was the first African American designer hired by the Ford Motor Company after graduating from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, with a degree in transportation design in 1956.
During his first assignment at Ford Advanced Design in Dearborn, Thompson worked under George Walker, then vice president of Ford design. Among his most important projects are several concept sketches for the future Ford Mustang and the legendary Ford GT40. Thompson also worked on the futuristic Ford Gyron of the space age, a two-wheeled concept car that was exhibited at the Century of Progress exhibition at Ford Rotunda in 1961. “McKinley was a man who followed his dreams and made history,” said Christopher Young, interior designer for the Ford Bronco. “He helped create some of the most iconic products ever – such as Mustang, Thunderbird and Bronco – timeless models that have been studied by successive generations of designers”.
The Bronco project began by studying a 4×4 leisure car, characterized by a square and short bodywork, a significant height and minimal overhangs for excellent off-road capability. In one of his first projects, entitled “Package Proposal #5 for Bronco”, which was done on July 24, 1963, Thompson traced the design of the car with a stylistic language that would later become an icon, embodying the first generation of the Ford Bronco. The four wheels are positioned at the far corners of the bodywork for a safe and aggressive driving position. Thompson’s idea of a compact, multifunctional two-door SUV is a theme he will return to later in life. After retiring from Ford, he worked to design and build an affordable multi-purpose vehicle, Warrior. McKinley Thompson Jr., a forerunner of our times where compact SUVs are having great success, died on March 5, 2006 in Arizona.
