![]() It was offered only in black, red, or white exterior paint. Distinctive 17-inch wheels, bucket seats, color-matched bumpers, a front air dam, and Lightning decals make the first-gen truck easy to identify. The performance upgrades didn’t come at the cost of capability: The Lightning’s tow rating matched that of standard F-150s. The Lightning even used a version of the F-250’s beefier frame. Custom shocks and a set of front and rear anti-roll bars helped keep the power under control. Other performance tweaks included an aluminum driveshaft, a limited-slip differential, and 4.10 gears out back. That hot-rodded engine made 240 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels via the F-350’s four-speed automatic-that’sġ0 more horsepower than the 454 SS. SVT outfitted it with better-breathing GT40 heads and a set of shorty stainless-steel headers. Under the hood of every Lightning sat a 5.8-liter V-8 engine, although not one you’d find in any other Ford. In 1992, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) division unveiled the F-150 Lightning in direct response to Chevrolet’s performance-oriented Silverado 454 SS. Between the frame rails, where conventional F-150s put engine, transmission, driveshaft, exhaust system, and fuel tank, there’s a tray of batteries and electric motors between both the front and rear pairs of wheels. It uses a conventional-style steel ladder frame, but instead of the rear leaf springs and solid axle used on full-size Ford trucks since 1917, there are independent control arms and coil springs at each corner (the current F-150 Raptor also uses coils). Under that mild-mannered costume, however, is a Kryptonian thing. ![]() If an observer doesn’t know the Lightning’s discreet styling cues, it swims anonymously amid the traffic stream. ![]() ![]() This isn’t Tesla’s someday Cybertruck doorstop moon buggy or the ludicrously large Hummer EV bent on domination. The aluminum cab and body pieces port from Ford’s best-selling F-series more or less intact. The new Lightning is appreciated within a line of personal-use, occasionally high-performance pickups: from the cushy 1955 Chevrolet Cameo to Dodge’s rowdy 1978 Lil’ Red Express and on to the insane turbocharged 1991 GMC Syclone, the 2004 V-10-powered Ram SRT-10, and the two Fords that previously wore the Lightning name-where some utility is forsaken for looks, luxury, acceleration, and audacity.ĭeceptively, the new Lightning wears F-150 skin. ![]()
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