An unexpected gem was this Ford SVT Lightning Bolt Ranger Prototype, which MotorTrend drove in 2004—a skunkworks “what-if?” thought exercise in which a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 from the full-size Lightning got jammed into a half-ton-lighter Ranger pickup, imbuing it with 420 hp and 480 lb-ft of tire-shredding torque.

For the first time, Ford Motor Co. has unveiled a collection of historic, concept and other vehicles long under wraps as part of a new Heritage Fleet.