Ford F-150 Sleeper Lures SVT Lightning to the Drag Strip, Eats It Alive

It would be reasonable to expect the segment slice mentioned above to include the Lighting name being used for a performance truck, as it has been for the first two generations, but we're not talking about this. Nor are we complaining about the Raptor using just six cylinders—how could we, when next year's R version will bring back the V8 next year, to deal with the Ram TRX?

Instead, we're referring to the lack of a road-biased performance truck, an empty space that admittedly no other automaker has filled for quite a while.

Such offerings used to be popular until the mid-2000s, when Ford retired the second generation of the SVT Lightning. Well, it just happens that the drag race we're talking about includes such a toy.

And the vehicle duked it out with another F-150, this time a modern example whose owner, YouTube Boosted F-150, turned to the aftermarket to brew his own bed-gifted asphalt runner.

As per the classic Lighting recipe, the vehicle in question, which is a 2018 model, features a single cab, a short bed, a (Coyote) V8 and a supercharger, albeit with the forced induction being part of the said custom effort.

Thanks to a 3.0L Whipple blower, as well as to American Racing headers, a fuel system upgrade and others, the 5.0-liter V8 now produces 430 wheel horsepower, which makes for around 500 ponies at the crank.

The machine has also been put on a diet, which, for instance, includes a hitch delete, while sporting BWoody Performance traction bars and Ford Performance Wheels shod in Nitto 420S all-season rubber.

Returning to the F-150 SVT Lightning, this is a 2000 model, which means its 5.4-liter supercharged V8 makes 360 hp in factory trim, while being mated to a four-speed automatic that helps it deliver 14s quarter-mile runs.

Then again, the motor packs a JLP cold air intake, meaner pulleys, a custom exhaust and a tune, with this bringing the output to about 500 hp at the rear wheels, or about 580 hp at the crankshaft. Oh, and let's not forget the entry-level suspension work done to the Ford.

With the senior truck obviously being lighter, victory was supposed to be in the bag. However, while its all-paw competitor, whose standard appearance allows it to qualify as a sleeper, had no trouble getting off the line, we can't say the same about the SVT Lighting, despite the battle involving more than one race.

(you can skip to the 2:35 timestamp for the action).