Mention anything about the Ford SVT Lightning to a car enthusiast and you'll likely get one of two responses: fervid disgust or irrational infatuation. It's a division that boils down to the existential purpose of a car. Pragmatists hate the Lightning because, as a motor vehicle, it's useless: it's neither fast enough to be a track-day monster nor utilitarian enough as an every-day work truck. Yet, optimists embrace its engineering ambition and utter lack of sense.
With today's announcement of the 2014 F-150 Tremor, Ford once again lobs a truck-sized existential dilemma into the market. While the SVT Raptor is a highly tuned, purpose-built off-road machine, the Tremor is a blunt force instrument solely aimed at making an F-series go from 0-60 as fast as possible. To do this, Ford dropped in the stock 3.5 liter Eco-Boost engine, developing 365 hp and 425 ft-lb of torque (until now it was available only in longer-wheelbase models) and swapped in a low-ratio "launch optimized" 4.10:1 rear-axle. The Tremor even has Alcantara seat inserts to remove any doubt about its true purpose.
Despite all the sport truck trappings, the Tremor appears to be a little less ridiculous than the Lightning. For one, the SVT engineers have been left out?this is nothing more than Ford putting one of their most powerful engines in their smallest truck. More importantly, though, Ford is offering a four-wheel-drive option, which should help put the power down quicker and enable owners to at least entertain the idea of getting the truck dirty.
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