[Jax Ram]

guys and Gals,
The new Autoweek (November 1, 2004) has a 3/4 page article on page 4 in the news section that says that Another SVT bites the dust, Cobra reborn.

It goes on to say that Ford is pulling the plug on the next generation SVT F-150 Lightning in favor of a single SVT model - the SVT Cobra Mustang which is due in 2006 as a 2007 model.

Article went on to say that "Ford has already shown a concept versionn of the next generation Lightning truck in 2003. The concept had a supercharged V-8 engine with more than 500 hp, in answer to the dodge Ram SRT-10, which had eclipsed the lightning as the world's fastest production pickup truck last winter."

"Ford was eager to regain the crown, but has decided to cede the performance pickup truck market over to the Dodge and it's 500-hp SRT-10, and to a lesser extent, Chevrolet, though the heavy, all wheel drive Silverade SS is not in the same category".

The whole article can be viewed at autoweek.com.

That is a shame because I really liked their super chiller idea.

Mark

 

[Hamrhead]

IMO, give it a few years. I think it'll be back. Remember, the Gen1 Lightnings were built from '93 to '95, then it disappeared until '99 when they brought out the Gen2. Ford gets mucho attention from these trucks. I can't see them giving that up permanantly.

FWIW, the 'Super Cooler' idea Never would have made it to production anyway.

 

[SVT242]

Lightning project is just postponed, not canned!

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/sema 2004/ford/lightning/page1.html

Some word from the man, Mr. SVT himself, John Coletti...

Official word is... The Lightning platform will be back, the project has been postponed, not canned altogether.

 

[BOOMER]

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/sema 2004/ford/lightning/page1.html

Some word from the man, Mr. SVT himself, John Coletti...

Official word is... The Lightning platform will be back, the project has been postponed, not canned altogether.

i heard they were trying to make new valve covers that said Ford on them to fit the Viper motor so they could keep up!

 

[trev17]

i heard they were trying to make new valve covers that said Ford on them to fit the Viper motor so they could keep up!

absolutely f-ckng hilarious-

 

[begood]

thats sooo funny!

 

[Hamrhead]

i heard they were trying to make new valve covers that said Ford on them to fit the Viper motor so they could keep up!

Clicking my stopwatch *now* to see how long it takes before a Lightning owner replies to that statement.


Funny though!

 

[Joeykunz]

Talk through the rumor mills and chat rooms sometimes focused on lack of performance in early versions and that the new Lightning might not be able to reclaim its status as the world's fastest pickup, a title now held by the Dodge Ram SRT-10.

"Some of the early ones just didn't get there. It wasn't meeting our internal objectives," said Coletti,

Wow big suprise there. I said all long they would have to have way more than 500hp to beat the srt-10. The new f-150's are super fat.

 

[earl lee]

Wow big suprise there. I said all long they would have to have way more than 500hp to beat the srt-10. The new f-150's are super fat.

add ugly to that list of things to. they dont even come as a standard cab, they all have that stupid king cab configuration. ugly, if i wanted something that look like it had 4 doors id get the crew cab, not that king cab that they pass off as a single cab.

 

[Wikdsvt]

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/sema2004/ford/lightning/page1.html

maybe it's not dead just yet....



Ford SVT Lightning Update
By: Mike Magda Posted: 11-02-04 19:31
© 2004 PickupTruck.com

Page: [1]

The director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) steadfastly denied that the Lightning pickup has been killed.

John Coletti said some media and enthusiasts have interpreted the group's decision to postpone work on the next-generation truck as meaning the program is cancelled.

"That's simply not true," said Coletti, who spoke with PickupTruck.com at the Innovations Day luncheon, which kicked off Ford's participation in the 2004 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 1.

"It was a business decision," continued Coletti, who was a panelist along with such legends as Parnelli Jones and Carroll Shelby to help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. "This was almost like a perfect storm. There were a lot of things that hit us simultaneously and now it's just a matter of us getting back in step."

Officials said that switching to next-generation platforms of the F-150 and Mustang hit too close together for engineering to proceed at a timely pace on both vehicles. Also, the plants where the vehicles are to be assembled have changed and acclimating the procedures and parts to a new workforce would have stretched the SVT team too thin.

"We're trying to find a slot that it [Lightning] makes sense in," continued Coletti. "The current slot just didn't make business sense so we're going to go back and reassess it."

"A lot of people are taking it to mean a stronger word than postponement, and we're here to say it's just a postponement. But the customers will get the truck they're looking for."

Talk through the rumor mills and chat rooms sometimes focused on lack of performance in early versions and that the new Lightning might not be able to reclaim its status as the world's fastest pickup, a title now held by the Dodge Ram SRT-10. Coletti said there are always such development steps with any performance project.

"Some of the early ones just didn't get there. It wasn't meeting our internal objectives," said Coletti, who also stressed that some of the early models of the Mustang Cobra and even Ford GT didn't reach performance goals in the beginning. "That's not usual. We evaluate it as a team and say we got to have more or we say it's right," said Coletti.

A Lightning concept based on the new F-150 platform made its debut at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. It featured aggressive bodywork and a 500-horsepower, supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine and an independent rear suspension.

Sources from the SVT Owners Association who attended the luncheon said their membership has been outraged at the decision. But some also admit the value of their Lightnings has increased.

 

[OrgasmicSVT]

i heard they were trying to make new valve covers that said Ford on them to fit the Viper motor so they could keep up!

Ford saw how well all the SRT10's are doing at the track, and said what's the point

 

[SRTFirefighter]

Yeah... We'll see ya in '08.