2000 Ford SVT Lightning

 

 

Today, sport specific trucks have increased in popularity. A consumer has a choice between plenty of off-road trucks; an F-150 Raptor, Ram TRX, Toyota TRD Pro or any of the SUV counterparts. All of these specialty trucks have been designed to excel in a Baja style environment but there is no truck in the market today which has a street performance focus. If you ever wanted such a niche vehicle straight from a manufacturer, you’d have to travel back in time when Fords SVT division reimagined the F-150 Lightning.

 

When SVT brought back the Lightning in 1999, they knew the truck would be suited for a special buyer and would not be the appropriate vehicle for mass production. Ford called for all of these trucks to be built out of the Ontario Truck Assembly Plant in Oakville. The Lightning was a regular cab F-150 which received plenty of small tweaks from the standard F-150 to ensure that the trucks chassis could handle the Eaton supercharged 5.4L V-8 power plant. The truck that left this factory was a menace to the streets.

 

 Car and driver tested the Gen 2 Ford SVT Lightning for a zero to 60mph time of 5.2 seconds. To put that in perspective, an E46 M3 (the M3 of the same era) had a zero to 60mph time of 5 seconds flat. Therefore, between street lights, the Lightning could keep up with some of the most desired sports cars of its time while also offering the usability of a half ton pick up truck.

 

This particular Lightning had just over 31,000 km on it when we took ownership in March of 2022. Prior to us, the truck had one owner from new where it resided in Burnaby British Columbia. This owner carried out a small list of modifications. The owner installed Hotchkis suspension, a Bassani cat back exhaust with headers, a performance air intake and a larger throttle body. Although we’ve never had it tested on a dyno, we are confident that it is now producing around 400hp.

 

My love for this truck grows every minute I spend around it. It seems as though most cars on the road today are built to get you from ‘A to B’ as efficiently as possible. What I love about this Lightning is that every time I get behind the wheel; it makes me take the long way to my destination, drive the speed limit so I can stay in it longer, and take an extra lap around the block before parking it. The truck is full of emotion; the Bassani exhaust plays the perfect tune everywhere in the rev range, the Eaton supercharger whines when you open it up, and the Hotchkis suspension and Michelin Pilot 4 S tires currently on the truck make it handle almost as well as it pulls (keep in mind it is still a truck). It’s loud nature and quirkiness of a street performance pick up truck is why it has such a large personality. As big of a beast as it is, the truck is happiest when cruising with one hand on the steering wheel, driving the speed limit, in the right lane, with the rear window slid open, and the radio on.