America used to build incredible concept cars that weren’t only forward thinking, but beautiful to gawk at as well. Times have changed, and American automakers especially are toning down the outlandishness of their concept cars, which is sort of a shame, but also understandable. That is why when awesome older concept cars come up for auction, interest and prices tend to skyrocket.

We’re not sure how much this 2001 Ford F-150 “Lightning Rod” concept will draw when the gavel falls at the RM Auction event in Arizona next week, but as a precursor to the Lightning pickup, we’re sure it’ll get a more than fair price.

First displayed at the 2001 Chicago Auto Show, the Lightning Rod Concept featured a stretched and lowed F-150 pickup that played on the retro styling theme that was just coming into vogue. Wearing 21-inch wheels, a custom grille, and shaved exterior, the Lightning Rod Concept was hot rod retro with a modern twist.

Under the hood was a 5.4 liter SOHC V8 engine, but the real draw is the fact that this car came out just before the actual supercharged Lightning hit the streets, ushering in an era of high-performance pickup trucks (again!) Auction estimates place the final bid at between $40,000 and $60,000…but we wouldn’t be surprised if it fetched a whole lot more.