While the Ford SVT Lightning F-150 wasn’t the absolute fastest sport truck of all time, it is hard to argue that the Lightning was the most successful sport truck of all time.
When being offered in its last incarnation from 1999 through 2004, Ford Motor Company sold over 28,000 examples of the blown F-150 and in terms of trucks at the race track, no trucks are more common than the SVT Lightning.
Ford hasn’t been completely blind to the market for a high performance pickup, offering the SVT Raptor F-150 for the past few years, but that truck is obviously very different than the old Lightning.
Where the Lightning was engineered to be one of the fastest and quickest trucks on the road, the Raptor was designed to do its damage offroad. That left those paved road racers without a factory package from Ford and while the new F-150 Tremor is a very cool truck – it is a far cry from the 1999-2004 Lightning.
Click here to head into the forum to tell us whether or not you think that Ford Motor Company should re-introduce the SVT Lightning for the new generation and why you feel that way.
"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.
