Ford has mostly focused on off-road performance for the F-150 pickup, with Baja-ready specialist vehicles like the F-150 Raptor and the upcoming V8-powered Raptor R. But the company could have a new on-road performance version in the works too. According to Ford Authority, Ford is considering building a new street truck edition of the F-150 — something along the lines of the classic F-150 Lightning.
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Back in the 1990s, Ford tasked its Special Vehicles Team (SVT) with building halo performance vehicles to build up the brand. One of those was the F-150 SVT Lightning. Ford built two SVT Lightning versions for the ninth generation (1992-95) and tenth generation (99-04) F-150. The latter version had a supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V8 pushing out 360 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque — at a time where the standard V8 F-150 posted 231 hp and 293 lb-ft.
Ford Authority says the new truck (if it materializes) would use a version of the F-150’s turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, which currently puts out an impressive 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque in non-Raptor models. It would also boast a lowered suspension, bigger wheels and low-profile performance tires.
“Considering” can mean a range of things, of course, and not all of them mean a new F-150 street truck will enter production. We have no doubt a new F-150 Lightning and many other ideas are being considered; the sales volume is so large that even a truck that would only appeal to a trifling niche could still sell by the tens of thousands (and make millions in extra profit). But Ford poking around to determine whether the project would be technically feasible and whether it would have any appeal is a far cry from getting one on the road anytime soon.