Autoblog

2004 SVT Lightning Concept

It's been several years since Ford last offered a Lightning version of its F-150 pickup truck but it looks like it will soon strike again. In spite of plummeting sales of big trucks, a high-performance variant of the new 2009 F-150 will launch later this fall, likely at either SEMA or the Los Angeles Auto Show. Ford showed a concept version of an SVT F-150 in 2004 that never made it to production. In March 2007, SVT's Jamal Hameedi told us that a high-performance truck was under development.

While participating in the Ford Racing Invitational media drag racing event this weekend, other SVT officials declined to get any more specific than "a new SVT truck is coming" and "later this fall." (clarification: Jamal Hameedi was not at the racing event and did not provide any of the new information) When pressed, he did acknowledge that it's based on the big truck platform and that is was unrelated to the so-called Raptor truck. An obvious guess would be an F-150 powered by the GT500 engine. Since the GT500 already uses the cast-iron truck block, it would be an easy installation. Whether it will use two or four wheels to deliver all that torque is unknown, but after my experience trying to put GT500 power down this weekend, hopefully it'll use all four.

Update: After hearing from someone at Ford and talking to Mike Levine from PickupTrucks.com this new truck will almost certainly not be called a Lightning. In fact according to Mike, this new truck is likely to be the new Harley-Davidson F-150.

[Source: Ford]

As the days go on, the much rumored F-150 Raptor is becoming less wild speculation and more solid reality. Dealers were given a glimpse of the forth-coming truck at the Ford Dealer Show in Las Vegas, and they haven't shied away from spilling the beans regarding what they saw. Ford marketing boss Jim Farley unveiled the Ford-embossed front grille of the baja F-150, then showed video of a juiced-up off-road mule tearing it up in the desert.

Farley also revealed some details about the Raptor's new powerplant, which is believed to be the 6.2L "BOSS" V8. Power was quoted at 380 hp, but both PickupTruck.com and Four Wheeler believe Ford is sand-bagging on the engine's real power quotient, which they feel will be in the ballpark of 420 ponies. We're guessing 420 would be a much more appropriate number considering the size of the engine and rumors that the truck may be formally labeled as an SVT product. Dealers were also shown one of the Raptor's long-travel shocks, which was built by Fox Racing especially for the Raptor and has a full 12 inches of travel.

Ford is reportedly very excited about the Raptor, and execs allegedly went as far as saying that the Blue Oval was going to drive the truck "right up Toyota's ass." Ouch, we hope that's a metaphor. At this time there is no word as to when the Raptor will be available to customers, but since it's being shown to dealers, it likely isn't too far off.


[Source: PickupTruck and Four Wheeler]

UPDATE: We got the tip from Kicking Tires that Ford has confirmed the Sport Trac Adrenalin is a $2,995 package, so it can be had with either a V6 or V8 in 4x2 or 4x4 trim.

click above image to view high-res gallery of the 2008 Sport Trac Adrenaline

Ford debuted the original Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept at the 2005 New York Auto Show, and since then we've been wondering if it would ultimately become a successor to the long gone SVT Lightning. We now have our answer, which is no. Ford will debut the production version of the Sport Trac Adrenalin next week at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and it will be sans any SVT badges like the ones worn by the concept. What it will have is a more aggressive look than the stock Explorer Sport Trac with a new front fascia that lowers the front end visually by 3.5 inches and incorporates round fog lamps, functional fender vents, integrated running boards, a new tailgate and cut outs for the dual exhaust system. Those 10-spoke wheels are also carbon copies of the concept's rims, though a bit smaller in diameter at 20 rather than 21 inches. The interior is also a monochromatic wonderland with Charcoal Black materials everywhere you look.

In terms of mechanicals, the Sport Trac Adrenaline does get the all-wheel-drive system that was shown on the concept, a first for a production Sport Trac. Unfortunately, no mention was made of the Roots-type supercharger worn by the concept's 4.6L V8 that produced 390 HP and 390 ft-lbs. of torque. In fact, Ford doesn't mention anything at all about an engine in the press release after the jump, so we're left to assume that A) there is no supercharger and B) the stock 4.6L V8 with 292 HP and 300 ft-lbs. of torque provides the Sport Trac Adrenalin's motivating force. It could also be the case that you can have either the 4.0L V6 or the 4.6L V8 in your Sport Trac Adrenalin, but we'll have to wait for Ford to provide clarification on this rather important detail.

The Sport Trac Adrenaline will be available to purchase in January for a base MSRP of $30,495 (including dest.), which is surprisingly close to the base price of a Sport Trac 4x4 Limited model at $30,195.

[Source: Ford]

Despite being derided by all and sundry for the restyled Focus, Ford invited some the model's biggest fans to tour the plant and sample the new coupe's wares. Members of both Focaljet.com and Focus Fanatics made up the dozen or so enthusiasts that were able to watch the Focus' production from start to finish, as well as driving the new coupe around a Ford test track.

Reading over the article in the Detroit News, you might get the sense that these die-hard Focus fiends aren't particularly thrilled with Ford's newest compact offering, citing everything from a lack of tunable powerplants to nixing the hatchback model from the lineup. Brian DePietro may have summed it up best in three short words: "It's not bad." Not a stellar endorsement from a guy that lives for the marque.

Naturally, the assembled Focus group had questions about the lack of SVT offerings in the compact range. No dice yet, according to John Zaremba, the Focus' marketing manager, who said that. "We're always looking at [the] performance division to enhance our vehicles, but currently there are no plans for SVTs."

[Source: Detroit News]

Click on the photo above for our photo gallery of the 2007 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson

Ah, how we miss Ford's second-generation Lightning. By infusing an F-150 with 380 HP of supercharged 5.4L fury and selecting suspension components that were up to the task of harnessing such power, the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) redefined the sport truck genre and sent the competition scrambling to build worthy competitors. In 2003, the Lightning gained a big brother in the form of the supercharged crew-cab wearing Harley-Davidson livery, but unfortunately, SVT's run came to an end a year later, and with it disappeared the blown Ford trucks.

Fast-forward to the present - the Harley-Davidson package has transitioned back to the F-150 after a brief flirtation with the Super Duty line-up (featuring one of the most garish paint packages in recent history), and forced induction has yet again found its way back into the fold. Now packing 450 horsepower and the blackest color scheme imaginable, we recently got a chance to spend a few days with what is currently the most powerful pickup truck available.

Click the image above to view the Autoblog Chip Foose interview

Questions remained surrounding the Ford Chip Foose F-150, so we set out in search of answers and found ourselves speaking to the man whose name appears on the truck. A couple of questions and a Chip riff or two later, here's what we learned - the inspiration for the truck was Foose's own F-series, the truck should be available in three or four months (!), and a lighter-weight two-door version might be on its way if Chip's crew has its way. SVT may not be able to resurrect the Lightning, but we think this would be an adequate substitute. Press through to watch us stutter and stammer our way through an interview with the Hot Rod Hall of Famer after the jump.

Ah, the joys of owning an exotic. This time it's an issue with the half-shafts on the Ford GT separating and causing a loss of power. Fortunately, for both Ford and GT owners, this has only occurred on four vehicles and isn't as widespread as the 60 some incidents of broken shaft bolts that Ford issued a TSB on last year.

According to SVT's chief engineer, Jamal Hameedi, the problem has only occurred during acceleration and not while traveling at a constant speed. It seems that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) isn't too concerned about the matter, as they haven't decided to conduct an investigation.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub. Req.)]

The future of Ford's Special Vehicle Team has been cloudy for the past few years. The hope that it would remain around in some form or another took a hit when its current chief, Hau Thai-Tang, was tapped to head Ford of Brazil earlier this year. Nevertheless, SVT indeed soldiers on and today we have proof that they're hard at work on a new project.

Winding Road managed to corner Jamal Hameedi, Chief Nameplate Engineer at SVT, at a Ford event in Detroit this morning. Hameedi revealed to WR that nearly all of SVT's resources are busy developing a new truck, and by "truck" he means a "body-on-frame" vehicle. Thus, whether it's a new F-150 Lightning or possibly a different F-Series model, an Explorer, Expedition or Ranger is unkown.

So, no Ford Taurus SHO developed by SVT or SVT Fusion. This kind of makes sense if one considers that the Lightning was supported throughout SVT's reign of terror in the '90s. Hameedi is reportedly extremely excited about the project, saying the finished product "...will blow your mind."

The performance truck world just got two shots of adrenalin in the form of the F-150 Foose Edition that will debut at the New York Auto Show next week and the Saleen S331 Sport Truck. If the new SVT truck will truly blow our minds, the bar is already set pretty high.

[Source: Winding Road]

Ford Motor Company has decided that Hau Thai-Tang has done such a splendid job with SVT that it was time for a promotion to head Ford of Brazil, the automakers's most profitable global market. Brazil has been great for Ford mostly due to the success of the EcoSport, which reversed share declines, but was deemed "too basic" for American tastes. Thai-Tang is continuing to live the American Dream, and we wish him luck with his new post.

Many of you are likely questioning what will come of SVT, which currently includes only one product, the Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500. As a matter of fact, there isn't even an SVT in the name of that one either, but we digress. Thai-Tang's right hand man Hermann Salenbauch, who was once the head engineer for then BMW's Land Rover unit, has been mentioned as a possible SVT Director. Either way, without products and without Thai-Tang, SVT's future looks more cloudy than ever.

[Source: Winding Road]

Here in the U.S., we haven't benefited from the hot hatch hysteria that has swept through Europe over the past several years. Our choices have been limited and even more so when it comes to domestic manufacturers. With the exception of the SVT Focus, Ford has never graced our shores with one of their hotted-up hatches, but still we yearn for some tire-smoking, turbocharged three-door action.

So without bemoaning the fact that we won't be getting the new RS, we'll just give you the facts, as they've been gathered by Autocar.

Continued after the jump...

[Source: Autocar]