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Automotive Industry

1999 Ford SVT Lightning

Automotive Industries, June, 1999 by Norman Martin

Get out the flag, it's time to once again salute extremes in this marvelous American car culture. Where else would you find a limited edition, 140 mph pickup truck with a 5,000-pound towing package?

Developed by Ford's Special Vehicle Team, this latest assault weapon in the great truck war is a stunner. It's simply awesome to look at and drive. Front suspension is lowered by half an inch, and the rear is dropped by about two inches, compared with a conventional F-150. And the 18-inch by 9.5-inch wheels give the rig a solid, muscular stance, especially with those fat Z-rated tires.

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Exactly what you'd want to tow with the Lightning is beyond me. But if you did, you could pull it pretty fast. The powerplant is a supercharged and intercooled version of the 5.4L Triton V-8 found in the F-150. But this version produces a claimed 360 hp and 440 foot-pounds of torque -- that's 100 horses and 95 foot-pounds greater than the non-SVT truck engine. To bottle all that go, the Lightning comes with four-wheel disc brakes and four-wheel ABS.

Interesting interior design details abound, including white-faced, electro-luminescent gauges that turn blue-green at night with brilliant orange needles. The heavily bolstered, 40/60 split bench seats from Johnson Controls are a two-tone combination of leather, cloth and logos.

Besides the Class III towing hitch, options include a factory soft tonneau cover and six-disc CD changer.

It's fast, capable of 0 to 60 mph in under six seconds. At $29,995, it's pricey. And since Ford plans to build only 4,000 of the red, white or black Lightning a year, it's rare.

And to me, that's perfect.

Automotive Industry

1999 Ford SVT Lightning

Automotive Industries, June, 1999 by Norman Martin

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