What Will Future Pickup Trucks Look Like?

Nobody knows what the future is going to look like, but there are those futuristically minded automotive designers that like to take a whack at it every once and while.

For instance, one of the most prestigious and biggest future design contests is the Michelin Challenge Design, which chose for its 2018 competition theme, "Mobility/Utility/Flexibility — Designing for the Next Global Revolution." This meant that contestants from around the world were going to be redesigning the three-box pickup truck. More than 1,200 registrants were submitted this year representing 73 countries, with the top two finishers from the U.S. And we're told over the last 17 years of the contest, more than 12,000 entries have been sent in from 126 countries. Judges for this event included designers from Ford, GM and Nissan as well as a four-time winner of the Baja 1000, Rob MacCachren, and Stewart Reed of the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.

As you can see from the photos below, some of the designs are quite futuristic but do provide hints about what these futurists are thinking about. Clearly, their minds are focused on (mostly commercial-use) function and practicality, abandoning the part of the automotive industry where pickups sit, serving personal-use buyers, outdoor lovers and families. It will be interesting to see how that gets reconciled in the years and decades to come.

On a similar topic, we recently had the chance to talk to one such millennial designer at the ArtCenter College of Design Car Classic 2017, a select car show that takes place on the campus of the ArtCenter in Pasadena each year. Edmund is a recent graduate from the college's automotive design department and did internships with both Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Volkswagen Group while finishing his degree.

For his final project, he created a four-wheeling Jeep concept that utilizes some clever exterior shapes, largely based on the opportunities afforded him from a diesel-electric powertrain platform. His inspiration came from several experiences he and his friends had while camping when their vehicles (we won't say which brand) got stuck in the sand. He wanted his vehicle design to be able to navigate different kinds of terrain with a group of his buddies while providing all of the capability and function of a pickup truck. Of course, he's hoping to end up at company that will allow him to flush out his designs.

Where the design of the next evolution in pickup truck design comes from is anyone's guess, but if what we're seeing from competitions like the Michelin Challenge Design and the ArtCenter College of Design are any indication, there is more than enough creativity out there in the world to keep us guessing for years to come. Our hope is that they don't forget about the fact that there are plenty of people out here spending good money to drive vehicles that have to do many kinds of work and play.

Cars.com photos by Mark Williams; Michelin images