This article was originally published on 1 Feb, 2012 and is part of ongoing coverage of Ford’s own Niche line cars from the SVT program.

The Ford F-150 holds the title of the world’s 2nd most sold automobile, ever. Let that sink in for a moment, since 1948 Ford has sold over 33,900,000 F-series trucks. That’s thirty-three million, nine-hundred thousand in case you’ve thought there was a couple extra zeros there by mistake, and it’s only been marketed to one region, North America. When you build America’s best selling vehicle for the last 28 consecutive years, it only makes sense to turn out a special or unique model once in awhile. The 1999-2004 SVT F-150 Lightning isn’t a new idea, in fact Ford first threw it’s Sport Truck hat into the ring, back in 1993 with the quite successful 1st Generation SVT Lightning.

Unlike the mildly hopped up 1st Gen Lightning, the 2nd Gen broke into new ground with the use of factory standard supercharging, only the second Ford vehicle to do so using fuel injection. In short, it was a home run, which developed a nearly cult-like fanbase of collectors, truck enthusiasts, drag racers, and hooligans.

Production
The Lightning was produced in very high numbers as far as SVT products go, a total of 28,124 over 5 model years. In 1999 sales opened with 4,000 trucks and remained steady until production ended in 2004. Production peaked in 2001 with 6,381 units, as John Coletti put it, “Since none of the other manufacturers were stepping up”.

Exterior colors offered were initially Red, Black, and White, with Silver added for 2000, True Blue in 2002, Dark Shadow Grey in 2003 while Sonic Blue replaced that year.

Year by Year
Aside from the obvious color changes noted above, the Lightning underwent styling and performance changes over the production run. In the performance department, the engine output was upgraded from 360 BHP to 380 BHP and 440 ft-lbs to 450 ft-lbs in 2001, mainly due to a larger 90mm Mass Air Sensor and much improved Intercooler system. The driveline was also changed from a 3.55:1 final drive ratio to 3.73:1 and a 4.5″ aluminum driveshaft was used in place of the previous steel 3.5″ unit. The cylinder heads underwent a minor change starting in 2002, the typical 3 thread sparkplug holes had a tendency to blow out plugs and were upgraded with new 8 thread castings. In 2003, the Lightning’s payload capacity increased from 800lbs to 1350 lbs. Towing capacity remained at 5,000lbs throughout the production run.
During the same time as the performance increase there were appearance based changes as well. The grillework changed from a honeycomb pattern to the “billet bar” style as seen on the Harley Davidson trucks. Body color side mirrors, Euro style taillights, revised headlights, and new wheel options rounded out the exterior. While the interior seen tinted rear glass as standard, brushed aluminum accented door handles, and minor changes to trim coloring.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Performance Data: (2003 Model Year SVT Owner’s Manual)

Factory Rated:
380 BHP @ 4750 RPM
450 BTQ @ 3250 RPM
0-60 MPH – 5.2 seconds (Car & Driver Magazine)
1/4 mile – 13.7 @ 104 MPH (Motor Trend)
Top Speed – 237.8 km/h
Skid pad (200ft) – 0.81g

ENGINE
5.4L SOHC Triton V8
Eaton M112 Superchager at 8 psi
Air to Water Intercooler
8.4:1 Compression Ratio
Premium Fuel Engine Calibration

57mm Twin Bore Throttle Body
42 lb/hr Fuel Injectors
90mm Mass Air Sensor

Heavy Duty Radiator
Engine Oil Cooler

Cast Iron Exhaust Manifolds
2.5″ Dual Exhaust with Side Exit

DRIVELINE
Ford 4R100 4-speed Automatic Transmission with Overdrive Lockout

Ratios:
1st – 2.71
2nd – 1.53
3rd – 1.00
4th – 0.71
R – 2.176

4.5″ Aluminum Single-piece Driveshaft with hardened yoke
3.73:1 Final Drive with Traction-Lok
9.75″ Rear Axle

SUSPENSION
Front suspension: Short-and long-arm system with 650 lb./in coil springs
Bilstien Shocks and a 31 mm solid stabilizer bar
1″ lower ride height than a standard F150

Rear suspension: Solid axle with 200 lb./in five-leaf springs
staggered Bilstien Shocks and a 23 mm solid stabilizer bar
2″ lower ride height than a standard F150

High performance – fade resistant brake pads
Front 12.1-inch diameter vented discs, dual-piston calipers from the F250 Superduty
Rear 13.1- inch diameter solid discs, single-piston calipers
4 wheel ABS
18 x 9.5 cast SVT aluminum wheels
295/45ZR-18 Goodyear Eagle F1-GS unidirectional tires

APPEARANCE & INTERIOR
Unique SVT-specific Front & Rear fascia, with integrated, round fog lamps
Unique rocker and box extensions
SVT front and lower fascia grilles
SVT emblem on rear left trunk
“Lightning” Fender Badges
SVT “Euro” Taillights
Unique high-mounted stop lamp, with 10 light-emitting diodes
flanked by two clear-lens cargo lights

SVT-signature electroluminescent gauges
Unique 40/60 sport seats front with “SVT” logo
Preferred Suede trim with Nudo leather seat inserts
Brushed aluminum finish on the interior door handles
Perforated-leather wrap on the steering wheel

Real-Life
When first released, the 99-04 Lightnings took the performance world by storm. Regardless car or truck, the SVT Lightning was something to tangle with. It was considered the fastest production vehicle built by Ford until the 2003 Terminator Cobras, and held the Guinness World Records title for Fastest Production pickup truck until February 2003, with a speed of 147.54 mph.

My first exposure to an SVT Lightning was at the Special Vehicle Team Owners Association (SVTOA Alberta Chapter) HPDE days, we had a number of these trucks doing lapping, and aside from handling surprisingly well, the blower whine was intoxicating. These machines and their fanatical owner base left such a positive impression, that when it came time to add a truck to the household, I knew there was only one truck for me. In fact, the first time I had ever ridden in a SVT Lightning was during the demonstration drive for the exact truck I bought, and my first drive was taking it home after money had changed hands. It had that much of an impact.

Legacy
As a factory supercharged engine these trucks take extremely well to modification, so well that even minor mods can take the engine beyond it’s safety margin. While the low-compression engine has forged pistons and crankshaft, it is the powder cracked rods that often fail under hard use, and the modified 4R100 automatic sourced from the Superduty Diesel lines are also prone to failure beyond the factory engine’s 450 ft-lbs of Torque rating. However all these shortcomings have been solved by the performance aftermarket and the trucks keeping getting faster.
The National Lightning Owner’s Club (NLOC) reports on 436 registered trucks and their 1/4 mile times, there are just over 200 trucks in the 12 second range, 73 in the 11’s, and 70 running 10 seconds or faster. The world’s fastest is currently Gary Soulages’s 2004 Red SVT Lightning, with a 6.711 @ 201.01 MPH.

These trucks are still quite desirable on the used market, and are generally holding about 50% of their new purchase price, without a 3rd Generation Lightning yet slated to step back into the Sport Truck market, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the trend continue