| Lightning SVT (Seibt Vehicle Transport) |
 If you ever get a chance to ride the Lightning, take it.A friend recently bought a pristine 2004 Ford F-150 Lightning SVT from a guy in Florida. Since I was already there on spring break, I offered to inspect it with my dad and drive it home. Oh my. If you didn't know, you'd think you were looking at an F-150, standard-cab stepside. But pop the hood, and there's a supercharged 5.4 liter Triton V-8 under there, pumping out 380 ponies. (SVT stands for Special Vehicle Team, Ford's internal hop-up shop.) This is a serious grin-and-sin machine. Supercharger kicks in anywhere, any speed, if you goose it. A vacuum gauge on the dash and a turbine-like noise tell you it's on the job. At 120, the supercharger is at full howl ... and still pulling seamlessly. Speedo only goes to 140. She is rock-steady at all speeds. 93 octane only, please. Motivating right along, she returned 14.5 mpg. About 300 miles per tank of gas. Rides very well — sport suspension is awesome in the corners, very smooth on the straights. Not like a truck at all; no crow-hopping or other nasty surprises. Leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise, all the amenities. Exhaust sound is very deep, very rumbly. Dual side pipes, both sides. Makes the seats literally hum at high speed. Lighting badging gives the secret away, to those in the know. Seriously, nothing street-legal can touch this thing. On a 15-hour, 70 mph average, overnight express run from Fort Myers Beach, Florida to Convington, Kentucky, Corvettes, Porsches, 5.0 Mustangs, other hotted-up trucks tried. Tried. In fact, the only thing that did catch me was a county-mounty in a skin-top Tahoe. He swooped up from behind as the SVT was doing 90, powered down the window and sternly mouthed the words "SLOW DOWN." Sir, yes sir. It's actually hard to break the super-wide tires loose on dry pavement, so everything turns into forward momentum. This thing walks away from stuff like nothing else I've ever driven. It was apparently driven by an older gentleman, who kept it in a climate-controlled area. The undercarriage looks the same as the day it was rolled off the factory floor. She is mint. She is fast. She is lovely. Mmm-mmm-mmm. For more details, a good review is here. blog comments powered by Disqus |