[1] The car's name is taken from the Pantone orange colour, said to be Newson's favorite,[2][3] although it was repainted in lime green[4] when it was brought to the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2000.

[8][12] The exterior and interior shapes echoed prior Newson designs for round-cornered rectangular dish racks,[13] furniture[14] and spoke-and-hub lamps.

[21] After its 1999 unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Show, automotive critics generally panned the design, with one self-deprecatingly calling himself "old and out of touch"[22] and thus unable to appreciate what was perceived as a toy-like, naïve box.

[23] Jonathan Glancey, writing for The Guardian, said at the time that most "contemporary car design is about as interesting as watching magnolia paint dry" and called the 021C "an eye-catcher", noting that "[it made] everyone who saw it smile.

[2][24][25] Alex Kierstein, writing for Automobile in 2020, noted influences from the original iMac G3 and called it "ahead of its time ... had Newson penned the Ford 021C today, maybe it could have been recast as a small production EV", comparing it to contemporary small EVs such as the Fiat New 500 and Honda e.[26][27] A car similar to the Ford 021C received a parking citation from newly minted officer Judy Hopps in the movie Zootopia.