Spy Shots: Next-gen unibody Ford Explorer mules caught
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/spyphotos/" rel="tag">Spy Photos</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/crossovers-cuvs/" rel="tag">Crossovers/CUVs</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115114/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule2.kgp.ed_opt.jpg " /></a><br />
<div align="center"><em><stron g><small>Click above for high-res gallery of next-gen unibody Explorer spy shots</small></strong></em><br /></div>
<br />Our spy photographers have noticed a test mule running around Detroit, and we agree with their guess that it's the upcoming reinvention of the Ford Explorer on a unibody platform. Since its inception, the Explorer has been a true SUV built on a sturdy truck frame, but the market has turned its back on traditional SUVs, so Ford came up with the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/06/detroit-2008-ford-explorer-america-concept-says-bye-bye-to-body/">Explorer America concept</a> that debuted at the 2008 <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/Detroit-Auto-Show/">Detroit Auto Show</a>. The concept previews the vehicle you see here, though current mules for the production version are cobbled together with bits of Taurus X and Flex body panels. <br /><br />The new Explorer will be ditching its truckish roots and climbing onboard a new car-based platform that's shared with the Flex. The new unibody structure will effectively make the next Explorer a large CUV rather than an SUV. The mules are wearing a Flex front end with a modified lower grille to allow more cooling air to reach the engine, but after the more steeply raked A-pillar we find the body of a Ford Taurus X. Our spies note that the wheelbase of these mules appears to be shorter than that of the Flex, though we expect the new Explorer to sport a third row of seats regardless. The mules also appear to be wider than a Taurus X or Flex, which is fitting with the SUV image the new Explorer must project. Click the gallery below for more spy shots of the next-gen Explorer, that should be arriving sometime in 2010.<br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/">Ford Explorer Unibody - spy shots</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115114/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule1.kgp.ed_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115113/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule2.kgp.ed_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115112/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule3.kgp.ed_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115115/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule4.kgp.ed_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-explorer-unibody-spy-shots/1115111/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/ford.mule5.kgp.ed_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />[Source: KGP Photography]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/23/spy-shots-next-gen-unibody-ford-explorer-mules-caught/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1351030/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/23/spy-shots-next-gen-unibody-ford-explorer-mules-caught/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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