The 021C's interior is finished in a combination of orange, silver, and white, and the car's compact rear suspension allowed development of a sliding tray luggage compartment. The 021C was constructed at Ford's Ghia design studio in Turin, where Marc Newson worked with the studio's designers, modelers, and fabricators.

The 021C combines clean, simple shapes and forms with innovative packaging ideas and technology. It is built around elements of Ford's next-generation small-car platform. Although shorter overall than Ford's current city car, the Ka, the 021C rides on a long 2485-mm (97.8-in) wheelbase. The vehicle features rear-hinged rear doors, swiveling front seats, a slide-out luggage tray, and a push-button four-speed automatic transmission. The cabin is set back slightly on the body to give the 021C classic sedan proportions.

Single lamp units are used for both front and rear. The single headlight features an innovative white light emitting diode (LED) and a fiber-optic display developed specifically for the 021C by industrial lighting company Isometrix. The LEDs, which use a phosphor coating to shift their color from blue to white, have twice the output of previous white LEDs. The rear lamp uses conventional red LEDs in a complex array that, like the front light, is programmable via a ROM chip. LEDs were used because they respond more quickly than conventional bulbs, giving valuable extra warning time to following traffic, particularly at highway speeds.

Slim pillars and a large glass area give the cabin a spacious feel. The roomy interior features a completely flat floor that curves gently to meet vertical surfaces such as door trim. The spacious feel is heightened by pedestal-mounted front seats — which swivel 90° to facilitate entry and egress — and the unique mounting of the dash, which appears to float between the front passengers and the windscreen. The front seats, built by Italian furniture manufacturer B+B Italia, appear to be one-piece, but the cushion pivots to allow adjustment. The entire dash panel can be moved, along with the steering wheel, on its vertical axis to allow for drivers of different height. The twin instrument dials, sources by Ikepod Watch Company, in the center of the dash can be rotated in their sockets via a joystick control. The interior is finished in a combination of orange, silver, and white, and features a variety of textures and materials including aluminum and rubber.

The 021C is powered by a 1.6-L Zetec-SE engine driving the front wheels, and gear selection for the four-speed automatic transmission is via push buttons on the steering wheel. Front suspension is by MacPherson strut, while the rear uses an innovative and compact double wishbone system with horizontally mounted coil springs and dampers. The rear suspension layout ensures minimal intrusion into the load space area, and allowed development of the 021C's unusual sliding tray luggage compartment. The whole rear-bumper assembly slides back to reveal the rear luggage area, which can also be accessed via a conventional trunk lid. Brakes are disc all around, and the large 16-in wheels are fitted with graphite colored Pirelli tires.

Kevin Jost