Lightning Strikes a Viper-Powered Dodge Ram

SVT Lightning with simple modifications wins the battle of the world’s quickest sport trucks.

While the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning has been out of production for more than a decade, it is still one of the most well-respected sport trucks in the history of the automotive world. When new, the supercharged Lightning was unlike anything we had seen before in a production truck, setting a handful of records for the quickest and fastest pickup in the world.

Unfortunately, the Lightning’s final year of production was 2004, and that was also the first year that Dodge offered the Viper V10-powered Ram SRT10, which broke many of the F-150’s performance records. By today’s standards, the output of both of these trucks isn’t all that impressive, but the Lightning and Ram SRT10 are still the top sport trucks in American history.

In the video above from the Function Factory YouTube channel, these two pickup legends go head-to-head at Auto Club Dragway in California and thanks to a few simple upgrades, the Lightning strikes quicker than the Ram.

Lightning Versus SRT10

In stock form, this Ford F-150 SVT Lightning would have offered 380 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque from the supercharged 5.4-liter V8. However, we know from the comment section of the video that the owner has added a cold air intake, a 6-pound pulley, a larger throttle body, Bassani headers, an aftermarket exhaust system and a tune from Addiction Motorsports. We don’t know the post-build output, but it is safe to say that this F-150 is making far more power than it did when stock.

As for the Dodge Ram SRT10 in the near lane, it is powered by an 8.3-liter V10 that is borrowed from the Dodge Viper. This truck is the quad cab version, which means that it has an automatic transmission rather than the manual of the regular cab pickups, but it still delivers 500 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque. It should also be noted that the SRT10 Quad Cab weighs over 5,600 pounds without the driver, so it is considerably heavier than the Lightning.

Battle of the Super Trucks

The video above begins as the F-150 Lightning and Ram SRT10 carefully stage at the starting line. When the green lights drop, the Ram appears to more first, but the Ford quickly jumps out to an early lead of about a length. They appear to stay at that distance through the top end beams, with the Lightning winning the race while running a 13.572 at 100.97 miles per hour. We don’t get to see the elapsed time for the Ram SRT10, but we see that it turned in a finish line speed of 96.06 miles per hour, likely somewhere in the high-13-second range.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

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