Ford F-150 Rocket League Edition: A real virtual world pickup truck

Mixing reality with fantasy has always been an exercise in film production and in the world of electronic games. But this time, Ford decided to take inspiration from the virtual universe to create a real one, one that can be felt and even driven. It’s the Ford F-150 Rocket League Edition, a primitive style pickup truck that has leaped from the game screen into the real world.

The model was presented at the Chicago Auto Show, USA, the first segment show open to the public after a year and a half. And to include the “character” of the Rocket League game, the truck of choice was the world’s best-selling F-150 warrior, who starred in other video games.

The game is a mixture of arcade style soccer and car wrecks. In it, vehicles fly, and in the air a giant soccer ball crashes into it. With this inspiration, the Ford F-150 design team developed the project in partnership with product designers Psyonix so that the in-game pickup would maintain some of its key features. The C-shaped headlights, the wide tires on the wheel boxes and the stamped F-150 logo on the rear are retained.

The task of taking the F-150 Rocket League Edition from the virtual world to reality was undertaken by Cinema Vehicles, which prepares the vehicles for television and movies. They used body graphics, 37-inch tires, side vents, wider gauges than the F-150 Raptor, and an orange-lit rocket turbine in the bucket. The body is shorter and wider, and the customization includes a stylized front grille, with the Ford name on a larger scale, and different color details.

“A real F-150 has all four wheels on the ground. In the game, vehicles fly through the air and basically hit a giant soccer ball. An exercise in imagination that transcends the screens,” says Adam Ricopelli, a designer at Ford.