Full-size pickup trucks are the best selling vehicle in the US - Ford leads in sales with over 850,000 full-size F-Series pickups sold last year. But what many thousands of truck enthusiasts complained about was the need for a real, high-performing pickup to compete with the faster sports cars prowling the roads of America. So the SVT (Special Vehicle Team) - responsible for all Ford high-performance products - went to work designing and engineering a full-size pickup truck that would meet and possibly exceed the expectation of the thousands of pickup truck lovers around the world.
The Ford F150 SVT Lightning pickup is just awesome. The Lightning has the most aggressive looks of any current pickup truck, and it backs up the bold looks with plenty of power and performance. It races to 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standstill in only 5.3 seconds, scorches the quarter mile in 14.2 seconds at 100.3 mph, and on the skidpan the Lightning pulls an incredible, (for a truck), .85g's! Don't forget where talking about a 2100kg vehicle.... phenomenal!
Early in its development, SVT concluded that Lightning should be a standard regular cab because it would keep the weight down and the shorter wheelbase would enhance handling; besides, the regular cab design looks the sportiest. The platform team responded and the Lightning achieved more than expected in acceleration, steering, and especially in handling and braking.
The SVT Lightning is distinguished from standard F150 models by a range of specially designed exterior elements like the unique front fascia with round driving lamps (an SVT design cue), lower air-intake directly to the engine oil-cooler, integral round fog lamps, and the Ford oval centred in the honeycombed grille. The rocker sill extensions visually link the front fascia and rear, and on the right, the twin 3-inch slash-cut, ceramic-coasted exhaust tips accent the effect. The Lightning's rear cargo box bulges out at the fenders and cuts a sexy curve.
But what gives the Lightning its real strength is the addition of a supercharger to the 5.4 litre Triton V8 engine. Already an is already an extremely potent engine generating 198kW, SVT engineers wanted to take Triton V8 to the next performance level. Since the engine block featured a 'deep skirt' design giving it greater rigidity, it was decided to boost performance with a supercharger. SVT engineers added a forged steel crankshaft, sinter-forged alloy connecting rods, and forged pistons, then lowering the compression ratio to 8.4:1 for the addition of the supercharger. Sequential injection, coil on plug ignition, alloy heads and a two valves per cylinder design with SOHC per bank are already standard.
The supercharger chosen by SVT is a Roots-type Eaton Corporation Generation IV model that sits atop the intake system and delivers up to 8 psi of boost pressure. Located directly under the supercharger is a water-to-air intercooler to cool the compressed air as it enters the intake. The sequential multi-point electronic fuel injection system has been massaged with larger injectors and wider air-intakes. The results of the supercharged 5.4 litre Triton engine are spectacular - it now produces 269kW at just 4,750 rpm and nearly 600Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm. To put all this power and torque through the rear wheels, Lightning receives the internal transmission components from the 4-speed automatic that is usually mated to the big 7.3-litre Power-Stroke diesel. As in that application, the Lightning features a separate transmission fluid-cooler.
The SVT Lightning's unique front suspension consists of upper and lower control arms, SVT coil springs, SVT special gas-charged shock absorbers and a specially designed 31mm solid stabilizer bar. Front-end ride height has been lowered by half an inch. Steering input is handled well with the F150 power-assisted recirculating-ball system. Due to grippier and massive performance tyres, SVT Lightning's steering now features a more responsive feel with excellent road feedback with little slush on the top. Like a sports car, it communicated to me useful information about adhesion and surface conditions. The rear suspension is based on a 9.75-inch solid axle with a 3.55:1 limited-slip rear end. Its motions are controlled by SVT tuned gas-charged shocks, an SVT 5-leaf spring system that replaces the standard F150 3-leaf setup and a SVT 23mm solid stabilizer bar. Rear ride height has been lowered by 2 inches. The staggered right rear shock absorbers tramp under aggressive acceleration from a standing start, or when dipping deeply into the throttle coming out of a turn.
To test the Lightning's acceleration specs, we did burnouts and acceleration trials at the just opened, 'state of the art' Irwindale Raceway, the newest half-mile oval short track in LA. We easily burned rubber with the big wheels and tyres that only add to the aggressive look of Lightning's exterior. The cast 5-spoke aluminium-alloy wheels measure 18 x 9.5 inches and these very attractive dished and offset wheels are wrapped around by huge Goodyear Eagle F1-GS unidirectional 295/45ZR tyres specifically designed for the Lightning.
The power brakes are very big, strong and quickly slow the Lightning to a safe stop. The 4-wheel disc brakes are derived from the much larger F250 SuperDuty pickup. The internal vanes rapidly and evenly dissipate the heat that builds up under hard braking, allowing the SVT Lightning to readily handle spirited drives in the morning as well as more pedestrian towing duties. Up front are vented rotors that measure 310mm and are clamped by twin-piston calipers. At the rear are solid discs with rotors spanning 333mm which are clamped with a single-piston caliper. The brakes are monitored by a 4-wheel ABS system.
The SVT stylists upgraded the interior of the Lightning as well. The interior is now trimmed in a combination of textured ebony leather and medium graphite cloth, including ebony leather door panels, and the beefy, leather-wrapped and tiltable steering wheel. The interior of the SVT Lightning provides the enthusiast driver with a secure feel on twisting back roads as well as luxury and comfort for everyday driving. The seat is an enhanced 40/60 split bench(!) with 6-way power adjustments for the driver's seat. The two primary seats feature lateral bolstering on both bottom and seatback. The high-backed buckets are the deepest cut that I have ever sat in and are very comfortable and supportive. A centre jump seat offers room for a 3rd. passenger. Flip it down and there is now a convenient storage bin, armrest and cupholder.
Lightning's SVT styled white-faced gauges are electro-luminescent - the instruments turn blue-green at night - with bright red needles. The cluster features a 140 mph speedo, 6000 rpm tach, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, engine temperature gauge and supercharger boost gauge. Other features include a premium AM-FM stereo with cassette tape player, a 6-CD player mounted behind the passenger seatback in a storage bin, dual-electric-remote side mirrors, power windows/door locks, upper console with compass and outside temperature readouts, powerful AC/heater system, steering wheel-mounted cruise control buttons, variable-speed wipers/washers, front SVT floor mats, remote-keyless-entry, and illuminated entry/"theatre" lightning.
Ford plans on building between 2500 and 3000 SVT Lightnings each year. But you'd better get your order in ASAP as the word is out on the pickup truck from Ford that goes and handles like a sports sedan. Prices start at only US$29,355 and the Lightning that I tested with a sliding rear window and trailer-towing hitch still cost only US$30,450.
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