Three takes were needed to illustrate the Lightning's smoky burnout and power oversteer potential for "Motor Trend Television." I'm sure that director of photography Vince Plodzien got it on the first shot, but I insisted we do a couple more, saying they were "for insurance." The real reason: The Lightning told me to.
The heart and soul of the Lightning is its supercharged 5.4-liter SOHC V-8. Compared to other Tritons, it boasts new forged pistons (to handle the elevated combustion pressures and drop static compression ratio), new intake tract (including new manifold and big-bore throttle body), water-to-air intercooler, and the all-important Eaton Roots-type supercharger.
With but 43 percent rear-weight bias, the Lightning is a devil to launch efficiently. Best performance comes by idling off the line and gently feeding in throttle until past 4000 rpm. Too much throttle and the Goodyears spin furiously; too little and its transmission (a modified version of that in Ford Super Duty diesels) upshifts prematurely. This wheelspin-or-bog routine meant many runs were a full second slower than its 5.5-second 0-60-mph best. All the way down the dragstrip, this truck ran neck-and-neck with the Mustang GT-amazing performance from a 4670-pound vehicle.
Still, don't think of this as a musclecar with a bed, but rather as the world's fastest production pickup truck. Massive P295/45ZR18 Eagle F1 GS tires helped the Lightning to a flat astonishing best-of-the-bunch 0.87 g on the skidpad. However, the lowered and stiffened suspension proved darty and unpredictable in the slalom, and it struggled to a slowest-of-the-group 59.2 mph. Ride quality is downright harsh and chassis vibration way objectionable on some surfaces. Larger brakes purloined from the Super Duty produced a 131-foot 60-0-mph stopping distance.
Overall, the Lightning packs a lot of punch for its as-tested price of $31,500. These pickups will sell as quickly as Ford can make them.
Ford Mustang GT
Like Being 17 Again
Easing behind the wheel of a Mustang GT, pushing the clutch pedal to the floor, twisting the key, and dipping into the throaty V-8-blipping the throttle at least once more than necessary-is one of those purely adolescent exercises, resurrecting from the past just about every instance of driving any great V-8 Mustang, including the first time. Hearing that authoritive, barking exhaust note will make anyone feel 17 years old again. My first time? I was behind the wheel of my friend's '65 GT that he and his father lovingly restored when we were in high school. Giddy? You bet, and anxious to see what all the fuss was about. Then, as now, you drop the clutch, lay rubber, bark the tires in second and third, and run it up to triple digits on every straight piece of road you can find. Yesterday and today, the Mustang GT has an attitude.
This time, our chrome-yellow '99 tester (base priced at $20,870) was outfitted with what I consider $2270 in essential options: 17-inch alloy wheels with high-performance rubber, black leather sport bucket seats, stereo upgrade, all-speed traction control (defeatable), and convenience package. The grand total, including destination was a reasonable $23,665.
Significant engine tuning on the '99 4.6-liter modular V-8 has lessened our "all bark, no bite" criticism of Mustangs since '94. At the dragstrip, the '99 GT's performance numbers, though great for a Mustang, are still not tops in this muscular crowd. Yet, 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds and a 14.0-second/100.2-mph quarter-mile run is as good or better than any stock Mustang we've ever tested, Cobra or not. Slalom and skidpad figures closed in on those of the more sophisticated (and expensive!) Cobra at 66.8 mph and 0.86 g, respectively, with the independent rear suspended Cobra turning in 67.8 mph and 0.88 g. Viewed in this way, the SVT superpony seems hardly worth the extra $7000.
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