SVT Lightning Fastest Production Pickup
By Carla O'Neill


Ford F-150 Lightning
ROMEO, Mich., July 25, 2003 (FCN) -- The Ford Special Vehicle Team F-150 Lightning Truck has taken a giant step toward making history and creating a new category in the Guinness Book of World Records.

During a series of clockwise and counterclockwise laps around the 5-mile-long, oval high-speed track at the Michigan Proving Grounds (MPG) in Romeo, Mich., on July 23, a gray supercharged stock SVT Lightning Truck with more than 6,500 miles on it, laid claim to the title of Fastest Production Pickup Truck in the World.


Tom Chapman
With SVT Chassis Engineering Supervisor Tom Chapman behind the wheel, the truck reached speeds of nearly 148 miles per hour, at 4700 rpm.

That’s good enough to earn a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records, which will make it official after receiving and verifying documentation.

Chapman said the idea to carve out a niche as the fastest production pickup truck on the planet was based on pure desire.

“We came up with this idea that we wanted to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s fastest production pickup," Chapman said. "No other motivation than we just wanted to do it.”


Scott McKelvey
The Special Vehicle Team didn’t have to go far to find a driver. As one of just 34 drivers in North America holding Tier 4 certification for high-speed driving, Chapman was the perfect choice.

“The only challenge is keeping good control of the vehicle at speeds that fast and Tom Chapman is certified for high speed driving here at Michigan Proving Grounds, so he was the right guy to be behind the wheel.” said Scott McKelvey, SVT Sport Truck Program Manager.



Before getting behind the wheel, Chapman acted as the team's mathematician to make sure the Guinness' speed requirement was met. One problem he faced was that the book requirement was stated in kilometers and the MPG is divided into miles. Chapman was able to devise a conversion and he hit the track.

For each direction, clockwise and counterclockwise, Chapman made two attempts to hit the bogey of 150 mph. After the clockwise spins around the track, the in-vehicle timer showed speeds hitting 146.938 mph and 147.45 mph. The counterclockwise speeds were even higher at 147.800 mph and 147.97 mph.

Those are amazing speeds, considering the truck is a stock SVT Lightning, weighing 4,700 pounds and rated at 380 horsepower, with an automatic transmission. It is identical to every Lightning produced at the Ontario Truck Plant.


McKelvey says the team deliberately chose a pickup truck representative of those on the road today.
“You could go to your dealer and pick up a truck just like it. This is how we received this truck and nothing was done to it other than folding the mirrors back and taking the antenna off,” he said.

Although SVT Lightning truck owners who are not certified for racing don’t have the opportunity to push the speed envelop wide open on their vehicles, they can live vicariously through one of the witnesses present at the high-speed run.

Todd Lassa, the Detroit editor of Motor Trend, had a chance to ride in the truck at speeds approaching 147 mph, after the official time trials.

“I rode in the truck after the record was set. It was very calm and serene. I’ve done driving of cars myself that speed in this type of situation in an enclosed oval or bowl, but never a truck, and the truck was nice and calm.”

Lassa and Wes Raynal, a senior editor for AutoWeek, served as the official objective witnesses required by the Guinness Book of World Records to verify the record speed.

 

Kickass

 

 

I love it!

 

This is how we received this truck and nothing was done to it other than folding the mirrors back and taking the antenna off,? he said. _________________
Aerodynamacy (my own word) does make that much of a dfferance! I had a Porsche 924 (years ago) that would do a top speed of 120MPH, but in the dark it slowed to 115 MPH. Why? Pop up head lights!

 

Now lets get RUSLOW on that track to SMASH that record with his "almost" stock lightning

 

 

hu aaa

 

I did that stock back in 2000 at Big Bend.Ran 148 on radar.But wait till I decide to go for the record now.Should top out at around 180.Look for that in the next month or so.would like the magic number of 200mph but not with what I have now and still drive it on the street comfortably[ie. a/c,cruise,and cd player blaring.] Stan

 

How much would a small cowl hood help this top speed? (one that relieves the engine room psi.?)

WOT

 

 

very nice

 

a cowl hood would HURT the top speed.due to the fact that the windsheild is a HIGH psi area.Look at the 67-69 Z-28s they used a cowl induction hood and so do the cup cars for the same reason.The cowl hood would force air into the engine compartment and UNDER the truck[very bad] which would cause lift!Stan

 

Here is a pic of the truck[and me]at the last event.

As you can see you block off as much frontal area going to the engine as you can and still have the correct temps.Stan

 

That's the first thing that popped into my mind after reading that article!