89k Mile SVT Lightning is a Collector Truck You Can Still Drive!

Righteous red SVT Lightning goes to auction sporting only 89,000 original miles with a near-flawless interior and exterior to match.

At the time of its release, the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was a mind-blowing release. Building on the legend of the original SVT Lightning that started the revolution of sport trucks, Ford and SVT engineers wanted more. They didn’t just create another sport truck. They built the best sport truck. With its universally recognized stepside bed, sporty front bumper and side skirts, and, of course, its ridiculously lovable side-exit twin-tip exhaust, the second-generation Ford F-150 Lightning is nothing short of an icon. Of course, it’s just as much go as it is show. Its supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V8 makes a whopping 380 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. This combination led to a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds for the 2001 model year, putting it over half a second faster to 60 mph than a 2001 Mustang GT. It’s hard not to want one. If you’re in the money, you’re in luck. You’ve got a chance to own a low-mileage and lovingly maintained one.

That’s because this gorgeous 2001 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning in a magnificent shade of red is currently available on Cars and Bids. At the time of writing, the listing has six days remaining and a current bid of $14,500.

Lightning In A Bottle: A 20 Year Time Capsule

Though the exterior is lovely to look at, the real show is the interior. Every nook and cranny looks to have been meticulously maintained and cleaned regularly. The customized seats are free of virtually any signs of wear, including in the bolstering. Complimenting the customized seats is an SVT logo-laden custom center console lid.

Other modifications include a custom exhaust system with long tube headers, no catalytic converters (buyer beware), and a Bassani muffler with matching exhaust tips. To accommodate the exhaust modifications and cat delete, it has a custom ECU tune.

Additionally, it has a custom intercooler, a column-mounted air/fuel gauge, and a Pioneer double-DIN stereo with a backup camera. It also has the turkey plan plug and an oil catch can. For those unfamiliar, there is a small plastic elbow on the rear of the Lightning engine’s intake system for PCV that is prone to crack and cause vacuum leaks and spray oil everywhere. Plugging it and adding an oil catch can to the PCV system is a common upgrade and fix for this issue.

Ready for the Road

Even the bed is in phenomenal shape, thanks to a custom carpet bed liner. Though, the listing does state that the bed has some scratches along the walls. What do you expect? It’s still a truck, after all.

Other minor issues the listing covers are rock chips in the paint on the front, hazing front headlights, a scuff on the driver-side mirror, and some surface rust on the underbody components.

While this is not a 100 percent collectors grade example of the SVT Lightning, this is a phenomenally clean driver’s car. We don’t expect this one to go too cheap, considering it has only 89,000 miles on it. However, we do anticipate that the lucky next owner will love it.

Photos: Cars and Bids

Braden Carlson

Braden Carlson is an automotive enthusiast from Boise, Idaho. At 19 he quit his day job to pursue a career in automotive journalism, launching his Youtube channel in his own name. Today you can still find him producing DIY video content, reviews and writing for an amassment of automotive websites. His work is most frequently found on Rennlist, The Mustang Source and Corvette Forum. When not writing or driving, he's likely to be found covered in grease and oil undoubtedly from one of his gratuitous collection of questionable project cars.