Modern F-150 Sizes Up Well Against the SVT Lightning

Average modern F-150 is about a quarter-second quicker than the Lightning.

When the last Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was available in showrooms back in 2004, it was one of the quickest, fastest and most powerful trucks that the world had ever seen. The supercharged V8 in the small half-ton truck afforded the Lightning the ability to hang with the top performance cars of the day and even 15 years later, it is still among the most respected go-fast trucks to ever hit the street.

However, the automotive world has changed a great deal since the Lightning raced off into the sunset, with “normal”, non-performance-oriented pickups offering comparable power to the SVT F-150. The clip above comes to us from the YouTube channel of IJVideos and it shows how an everyday half-ton truck from the modern era compares to the mighty Lightning, and the results might surprise you.

F-150 Versus the Lightning

There is no detail on either of the trucks in action in the video above, but we can tell quite a bit about the newer F-150 and the Lightning based on what we can see in the footage.

In the near lane, we have a Ford F-150 SVT Lightning in Dark Shadow Grey, which was only offered for the 2003 model year. The 2003 SVT pickup was powered by a supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V8, which delivered 380 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque in stock form. Based on the appearance and the elapsed time turned in by this truck, we are guessing that it is stock.

In the far lane is a Ford F-150 from the current era in the short bed, short cab form. That configuration is only available in XL and XLT trim, but we don’t know what engine is under the hood. Based on the performance of the truck and the fact that it looks stock, we are going to guess that this F-150 is packing either the 5.0-liter V8 or the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. The EcoBoost delivers 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque while the V8 delivers 395 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, so either engine has similar horsepower to the Lightning, but the EcoBoost packs far more torque.

Head-to-Head Action

The video begins with the two half-ton trucks pulling into the burnout box of Castrol Raceway. The Lightning does a quick burnout while the newer F-150 does not, suggesting that the newer truck has four-wheel-drive, but again, we don’t know for sure. What we do know is that when the green lights drop, the two trucks come out pretty evenly, but the F-150 in the far lane seems to get out slightly better.

The race is fairly even early on, but as the two head down the track, we can see that the Lightning falls behind just a bit. When they cross the finish line, the newer F-150 gets there first with a time of 14.1 while the Lightning runs a 14.35.

In other words, this newer F-150 with a similar short bed/short cab layout is about a quarter of a second quicker than the Lightning.

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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