Automotive News, Media & Press - SVT Not To Be: Ford Kills Of It's Performance Division

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Columns/articleId=109512

The division that gave us the F-Body eating TC and that sparked the full size performance truck segment is going the way of the dodo. Ford is pulling the plug on its SVT operation. At least most of it. The division may be relegated to tuning suspensions and maybe boosting horsepower through bolt ons. Tis a sad say for performance fans.

While the '93-'95 1st gen Lightning was little more than Ford's attempt to build a 351 powered 454SS competitor, it was the 2nd gen introduced in '99 and built until 2004 that really got things going. Because of the 2nd gen Lightning Dodge gave us the ballsy ass Ram SRT-10 SC and QC and Chevy the half hearted but more useable Silverado SS and to some extent the retarded SSR.

On the pony car side of things, Ford unlike GM continually updated the Cobra throughout it's lifespan. As a final hurrah for the SN95 cars Ford gave us the TC capable of putting Camaros and Firebirds to shame. If only Ford had introduced the TC in '02 I'm sure F-Body fans would have shead tears over the fact that a blue oval had the power to take out their beloved 35th Anniversary SSs and Special Edition T/As. The TC Cobra despite being supplanted by the GT500 remains a force to be reckoned with on the street, on the track and at the strip.

On the lighter side of things, Ford also gave us the 195hp SVT Contour and the 170hp SVT Focus. Both cars were underpowered but often made up for this at auto-x courses by being underpinned by well tuned suspensions. The SVT Focus while underpowered by competition from Honda, Mazda, Dodge and many other brands remains a tarmac terrorist till today. The Contour on the other hand disappeared into the night.

With the 390hp Sport Trac Adrenalin backed by a 6 speed automatic on the horizon, a 500hp 3rd gen Lightning in the pipe, the GT500 raising hell all over the autoshow circuit and a rumored SVT Fusion a large possibility, it seemed that SVT was about to go toe to toe with Chrysler's SRT division. However this was not to be. Apparently Ford did things a little too quickly and aggressively when it came to building it's ubercar GT and pushed SVTs main products to the side. It has reached the point where SVT no longer has the funding, resources or manpower to continue building capable street machines. Tis a sad day for performance gurus. :(

Yeah, read about that last night. I feared that would happened after John Coletti retired. He was the main driving force behind that team. Should be interesting to see how the new Ford performance cars are marketed.

That's very surprising. I guess the upcoming Shelby Cobra GT500 is no longer officially a SVT product. Well at least that will shorten the name a bit.

What's a Mustang TC???

I know he's talking about the 03-04 cobras with the superchargers, but what's the TC stand for??

As a previous SVT owner as I'm sure several people are on the board, it is a sad day.

What's a Mustang TC???

I know he's talking about the 03-04 cobras with the superchargers, but what's the TC stand for??
Terminator Cobra :confused:

I read that a couple days ago.... but I have also read that the badges for the new GT500 were going to have both SVT and Shelby on them.... :confused:


Edit: guess not.... Pics (http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/wallpaper/07gt500/76.jpg)

I thought Shelby was taking over there operation and that would be the new name. There are supposedly Shelby trucks on the way, per Motor Trend.

sounds like a move GM would pull....

it will be back used to be SVO

So they lost everybody marketing staff, relations etc. I own a Trans Am but shit i would have no problem working for SVT just to keep it alive. Sad to see it go.
-Joel

This isn't the way forward Ford, it's a huge step backward. Enthusiast and enthusiast-oriented products MAKE US automakers. GM PD and Chrysler SRT are enjoying a huge degree of success and Ford is bowing out?

This is just ridiculous, especially after all the promising concepts they had. The Lightning had all the right stuff to be a mega hit. The Adrenalin was cool and different, and who doesn't want to see a mean, turbocharged, AWD Fusion?

This is a very sad day for US auto enthusiasts.

http://www.fpv.com.au/images/public/topmasthead04.gif (http://www.fpv.com.au/)

At least Australia isn't getting left out of hot factory Fords. But then again they pretty much run their own show independent of Dearborn.

http://www.fpv.com.au/images/public/topmasthead04.gif (http://www.fpv.com.au/)

At least Australia isn't getting left out of hot factory Fords. But then again they pretty much run their own show independent of Dearborn.

The guys in Oz always have all the fun. HSV and FPV are the shiznit. I still remember a few years back during the pre-FPV days when Tickford ran Ford of Oz's performance operations for a couple years. FPVs current lineup includes some bad ass sedans and utes powered by one of two powerhouses. Either the 5.4L Boss 290 naturally aspirated DOHC V8 or the Boss 270 4.0L turbo inline 6. Both motors are numbered for their output in kW. 290kW translates to 389hp and 270kW translates to 362hp. From what I've heard because of the turbo inline 6s lower weight, the cars fitted with them handle a bit better and also run about the same times as those posted by the V8 models. Not only that, but supposedly they're a bit easier to mod since they're already turbocharged from the factory. The 4.0L urbo inline 6 also puts out more torque than the 5.4L NA V8 at 409 lb.ft. vs. 384 lb.ft. for the V8.

The coolest thing about Ford's FPV lineup is that since the introduction of the BF gen cars in 2005 they're available with either a T-56 6 speed manual (which replaced the previous 5 speed in 2004 on the BA II) and now a ZF 6 speed automatic as well (previously a 4 speed was the only slushbox available). This puts them ahead of HSV in the transmission department as HSVs are available with either a T-56 or an old school 4 speed automatic. At least this is how it is with the current VZ cars. With the introduction of the next gen VE cars, Holden may add a gear or two to their automatic backed cars.

On a side note, Ford has the entire market in terms of high performance 6 cylinders. Before the introduction of the 4.0L turbo inline 6, HSV offered supercharged 3800 Series II pushrod V6s with 240hp IIRC. However with the introduction of the Boss 270 motor HSV realized that their age old pushrod V6 wouldn't cut it and that the LS1 and eventually the LS2 were superior motors anyway. Now HSVs entire lineup (save for it's AWD models which make do with LS1s and the VXR which is powered by a 240hp 2.0L 4) are powered by LS2s.

[/rant]

Sucks, I'm a GM gie die hard to the core, but I have respect for the SVT brand. The 03-04 Cobras were my mind some of the best Mustangs ever built. Shame

That sucks Die hard GM guy here too but still.

That sucks Die hard GM guy here too but still. Mainly because i was looking into a 03/04 cobra now i bet they will sky rocket in price..

I'm a GM guy at heart, but I still love Ford and MOPAR. This really sucks that this is happening. I've often thought about once I get my car paid off to get a low priced SVT Cobra (around 7-8k), and I may just do that since they may go up in price cuz of this.

Not good. So much for competition. I'm sure the SVT owners assoc. isn't too pleased.

What's a Mustang TC???

I know he's talking about the 03-04 cobras with the superchargers, but what's the TC stand for??

back in 84 they had a mustang that was Turbo Charged(TC) but it was under the name of SVO. pretty mean lil bugger. but i doubt the SVT program was around that long ago.

Not cool. I wish both GM and Ford would get their acts together.


-Mike

i guess with less competition gm will wait till 2015 for the new camaro to come out. not big on ford but still sad to see the performance program go. the 03-04 cobras are hella bad ass. yes that's right, i said hella.

ford will still offer performance vehicles. it just wont have an SVT badge and backing.

ford will still offer performance vehicles. it just wont have an SVT badge and backing.

I'm not holding my breath on that either. They had two running and production ready concepts (Lighting and Adrenaline) and killed them. The situation is looking dire.

I'm not holding my breath on that either. They had two running and production ready concepts (Lighting and Adrenaline) and killed them. The situation is looking dire.


from what i understand the lightning project was never completed. they could'nt get a trans. to hold up under the power?

i agree there wont be as many vehicles offered but they'll probably still produce a high performance mustang since its a popular car.

i agree there wont be as many vehicles offered but they'll probably still produce a high performance mustang since its a popular car.

Yeah, but the SVT division of Ford was like what SS is to Chevy and SRT is to Dodge. It was a performance car. I really liked what SVT came out with (Lightning and Cobra). I hope they come out with a new performance division soon or maybe even in a few years bring SVT back.

SVO went to SVT. I am sure they have something up their sleeves. :judge:

back in 84 they had a mustang that was Turbo Charged(TC) but it was under the name of SVO. pretty mean lil bugger. but i doubt the SVT program was around that long ago.

I'm not talking about the turbo 4 banger powered Mustang SVO. TC refers to "Terminator Cobra" or the blown '03 and '04 cars.

I've been looking for a good excuse to buy a Lightning.Guess I just found it.

I think this was a bad call on Ford's part...

from what i understand the lightning project was never completed. they could'nt get a trans. to hold up under the power? ...
I don't know what was so hard about that - hell, my SRT-10 truck is heavier (5500 lbs), has a motor making 525 ft-lbs in it, and can tow around 8,000 pounds. SRT sure did not have a problem with this.

In the bigger picture - this sucks. I loved the Lightning concept, and even like the GT500 (which I guess will go on but not have anything to do with SVT). Dodge/Chrysler is having great success with the SRT program (I own one and about to be two of those for good reason), the C6 and Z06 are huge hits for Chevy, and Ford does this. I don't get it. I guess we need more Ford 500s :eyes: :barf:

I don't know what was so hard about that - hell, my SRT-10 truck is heavier (5500 lbs), has a motor making 525 ft-lbs in it, and can tow around 8,000 pounds. SRT sure did not have a problem with this.

In the bigger picture - this sucks. I loved the Lightning concept, and even like the GT500 (which I guess will go on but not have anything to do with SVT). Dodge/Chrysler is having great success with the SRT program (I own one and about to be two of those for good reason), the C6 and Z06 are huge hits for Chevy, and Ford does this. I don't get it. I guess we need more Ford 500s :eyes: :barf:


is your truck a manual trans?

is your truck a manual trans?


Definitely not. The balls to the wall 6 speed manual trans Ram SRT-10 is only available in Standard Cab guise. The Quad Cab comes only with a 4 speed automatic.

However as for the Lightning, Ford was planning on ditching the 6 speed manual from the concept anyway in favor of an automatic of some sort since previous Lightning customers had been satisfied with an automatic trans. They figured that if people wanted a close to 500hp vehicle with a 6 speed, they could always buy a GT500. Dodge seems to offer the best of both worlds with a 6 speed stick available in the RC and a slushy available in the QC. What they need is to add an extra gear to the QCs 4 speed auto.