Digestible Collectible: 2000 Ford SVT Lightning

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

Eleven years ago, I married a remarkably tolerant woman. She’s not particularly into cars, but she humors me when I prattle on about the merits of whatever awesome car caught my eye that day. Or when I decide I need to take an epic, one day, out-and-back trip to Maryland to buy a race car that’s never turned a wheel under it’s own power in the three years I’ve owned it. But she has her own automotive tastes, and for sake of marital harmony, I do my best to listen.

As a country girl, trucks weigh heavily in her list.

One peculiar truck that caught her eye about fifteen years ago was the Ford SVT Lightning. I think the bit-player role it took in the first “The Fast and the Furious” film (as Harry’s shop truck) may have done it for her. That, or she’s conflating her lust for Vin Diesel’s bulging biceps with the sweet melody of whistling supercharger and burbling V-8.

These seem to hold their value quite well, like other limited hi-po Fords. A clean, standard F-150 would probably bring around $5,000 or so. This 2000 Ford SVT Lightning is right in the middle of the market at $13,995.

I love the blacked-out factory rims against the silver finish — it’s likely reversible, but distinguishes the truck just a little bit. The Lightning looks well cared for, as it was likely rarely used for any sort of hauling duty.

Alas, a two seat pickup truck is a less than ideal family vehicle, and my wife’s dreams were dashed when child one came along. I did have trouble losing the baby weight, but I do have a full head of hair well into my thirties, so score one for the pasty Ohio boy.

Nowadays, you have to shop hard to buy a new truck without 350+ horses under the hood, so the performance of the limited-edition truck isn’t so alluring anymore.

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Kosmo Kosmo on Nov 03, 2015

    Chris, FWIW, I test drove one of these new, when I was considering ordering the H/D version, just to get a feel for the powertrain. That part of the truck was astounding. Numbers do not do the torque feel justice. But the road noise was crazy. Just crazy.

  • SoCalMikester SoCalMikester on Nov 03, 2015

    my personal theory is that the cars with the worst switch wear are driven by dirty smokers who never clean their cars. nicotinic acid left on hands and fingers of people that never wipe the switchgear off, because i guess car washes wont do that- they just spray your tires with armor-all and swab windows down?

  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
  • SCE to AUX "...the complete Mustang model lineup to peruse"Will the fake Mustang show up, too?
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