The second-generation Ford F-150 SVT Lightning is so interesting and iconic that it’s difficult to decide in which context to frame a discussion about it.
Do we highlight its brief cameo in The Fast and The Furious? It may be easy to forget, but the Mark IV Toyota Supra and second-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse weren’t the only vehicles made infamous by Paul Walker in the film.
Maybe we talk about what the name means today and how, in some ways, reviving the “Lightning” moniker for Ford’s first EV pickup was a great way to introduce the idea of EV performance into the segment, even though the two vehicles couldn’t be less alike.
Maybe we talk about how ahead of its time the Ford F-150 Lightning was and how it conquered a segment that no longer exists, the long-forgotten “street truck” or “muscle truck” niche. Ford’s top priority for its halo pickup truck back then wasn’t to build an overlanding masterpiece. It was to continue the muscle car tradition of cramming big engines into pedestrian vehicles to create quarter-mile monsters. This “muscle truck” idea was so ingrained that when it was first introduced, the off-road-focused F-150 Raptor was seen as a radical departure from what we had expected from Ford SVT.
In fact, it wasn’t until this year, with Ford announcing the introduction of the Maverick Lobo, that the idea of the “street truck” resurfaced. Interestingly, the second-gen Lightning is probably closer in size and utility to the modern Maverick, so, in some ways, the upcoming Lobo is a closer successor to the SVT Lightning than the Raptor or Lightning EV that followed it
Heck, maybe all we really need to point out is how this truck received the same 5.4-litre V8 as the Ford Mustang Cobra R and could jet to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds — which was just a shade slower than most magazines were getting out of the Porsche 911 Carrera at the time — thanks to an upgraded Eaton supercharger and shorter final drive ratio update in 2001. Its 380 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque was more than your neighbour’s new base Corvette in 2001.
You have to take in all of it at once. Because as the second-gen SVT Lightning is now almost 25 years old, you begin to accept that an example in showroom condition could sell for $100,000.
That’s the case for this beyond mint example of a 2001 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning offered for sale by Blue Star Motors in North Vancouver, B.C., through AutoTrader.
The truck has clocked a measly 2,650 miles (just shy of 4,300 km), meaning it never hit the recommended mileage for its first oil change or routine maintenance appointment (the truck has received regular maintenance over the years, we’re just pointing out how flippin’ low-milage this thing is).
And yes, we said “miles.” This truck was originally sold in the United States, but it’s worth noting that the vehicle was assembled in Canada at the Ford plant in Oakville, Ont., so making it back across the border is something of a homecoming for this Lightning.
In addition to unique SVT interior accents, every Lightning received the “502A” equipment option for F-150s, and this example is no different. Inside, you’ll find micro-suede seats with leather inserts and SVT embroidered logos, a flip-up centre console, the iconic white-faced SVT gauges, and a six-disc CD changer (because 2001). It’s not very pretty by today’s standards. In fact, you could call it ugly. But dang, it will make you feel nostalgic.
No. You don’t need to spend $100,000 to experience a second-generation Lightning.
Ford made almost 6,400 of these trucks in 2001 alone and nearly 30,000 during the entire production run. They’re not unobtainium rare and there are plenty of examples for sale right now on AutoTrader at various price points.
But, if you want to have a perfect one — one that exemplifies the SVT Lightning as a pop culture and automotive history icon, and that can serve as a time capsule for generations to come — it doesn’t get any better than this one.
And they definitely won’t be getting any cheaper as the years roll on.
