As consolation for relinquishing the crown, Ford SVT gets to study the Dodge PVO project to perhaps make some last-minute adjustments to its own. The SVT Lightning concept appeared at the Detroit show with numbers and specs that closely match the mega Ram's. SVT says the Lightning concept's aluminum twin-cam 32-valve 5.4-liter V-8 makes 500 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, thanks in part to Ford's new SuperCooling technology, which uses the air-conditioner as an intercooler for the supercharger. It dissipates 20 percent more heat than a conventional intercooler, and it's good for about 50 extra horses for bursts of up to 45 seconds.
Dodge's PVO group has stuffed the Ram's engine bay with the Viper's thumpingly large V-10. The 8.3-liter ten pumps 505 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque to the truck's monster rear rubber.
Officially, SVT's goal is to rival the SRT-10's power. Unofficially, we hear SuperCooling could produce short bursts of as much as 550 horsepower in the Lightning. SVT estimates the, ahem, concept engine pushes the truck to 60 mph in the upper-four-second range. Ford and Dodge are being conservative with performance estimates. Example: Ford's official 0-60-mph estimate for the current '03 Lightning is 0.6 seconds slower than Motor Trend's actual test results.
Two features that probably won't make '05 Lightning production are its six-speed Tremec gearbox and 22-inch wheels, shod with Goodyear P295/40R22 tires front and P325/45R22 rear. We applaud the latter. Big wheels don't automatically translate into better handling; in fact, they often add unsprung weight, which can degrade ride quality. We expect the '05 Lightning to appear at your local Ford showroom with something like the current truck's 18-inch wheels, or perhaps 19s or 20s, at most.
We're less pleased with the prospect of losing the manual trans. SVT says its customers have been satisfied without a stick, and so the truck will probably feed its considerable power through the F-150's new 4R75E four-speed automatic. Advantage, Dodge, for using the appropriate transmission for a performance model, truck or otherwise.
Expect an incremental bump in price for the '05 Lightning, probably to at least the mid-$30s. It'll be a more accessible truck than the SRT-10, as annual production will remain in the 5000-7000-unit range. While that's still less than one percent of F-150 production, it's about twice the number of the SRT-10s Dodge expects to build.
Which will win the heavyweight title? Too early to tell, too close to call. But we know there's one helluva supertruck comparison test looming in our future.