Designer of $1M McLaren P1 Now Designing $21,500 REO Truck

From Designing the McLaren P1 to a Cheap American Pickup

Frank Stephenson has one of the strangest resumes in modern automotive design. His work includes the McLaren P1, Ferrari F430, Maserati MC12, first BMW X5, modern MINI and Fiat 500. Now his design studio is taking on something very different: a line of deliberately simple, affordable pickup trucks for the revived REO brand. On September 21, REO announced that frankstephenson design is shaping all three versions of its upcoming Runabout, including the T4X work truck, T4C crew cab and S4C SUV.

That sounds like an odd match until you look beyond the supercars. Stephenson was also heavily involved in two of the most successful retro-inspired small cars of the modern era, the MINI and Fiat 500. Both required translating historic identity into something new without simply copying the original. REO is attempting a similar trick with a name that dates to Ransom E. Olds and the original REO Motor Car Company.

The difference is the price target. REO currently says the two-seat T4X will start around $21,500, making this less an exotic design exercise than an attempt to make an inexpensive truck feel distinctive without making it complicated.

REO Trucks Wants Simplicity to Become the Selling Point

Stephenson is not being asked to create another P1. REO’s design brief revolves around simplicity, durability and repairability. The company says every major control should have a physical switch or lever, body panels and trim should be removable with common tools, and replacement parts should not be electronically locked to an individual vehicle. REO also says it plans to maintain a public parts catalog for 20 years and allow approved outside manufacturers to sell compatible components.

That gives the design team an unusual challenge. Modern vehicles often communicate expense through giant screens, complex lighting signatures and elaborate interiors. The Runabout is supposed to do the opposite. It has to look inexpensive without looking cheap, rugged without becoming cartoonishly aggressive, and modern enough to meet current expectations while still feeling like a simple work truck.

Stephenson described the project as a chance to revive a historic American name with a particularly clear brief: make the vehicles “simple, honest and built to last.” His studio is already deep into development of all three Runabout variants. REO plans to reveal the finished digital designs in November, followed by the first physical vehicle in 2027.

A Famous Car Designer Gives REO Something Else It Needs

Hiring Stephenson also gives REO something nearly as valuable as good styling: credibility. The Dallas-based company is still an automotive startup. It has not begun production, its specifications remain targets, and a $25 reservation does not guarantee a truck, price or delivery date. REO currently targets pilot builds and federal validation in 2027, formal orders in 2028 and first deliveries in late 2028 or 2029.

Still, people are paying attention. REO said on September 22 that more than 33,000 people had already placed deposits for a Runabout. The company is promising a gasoline four-cylinder engine, body-on-frame construction, mechanical four-wheel drive, manual or automatic transmission choices and 4,500 pounds of towing capacity, although those figures remain subject to final engineering and certification. That makes November’s reveal unusually important. We already know Frank Stephenson can design a $1 million hypercar that looks special. The more interesting question is whether he can make a $21,500 pickup look special too.