5 Best / Worst Ford Special Editions
We gathered a list of the top 5 best and worst special edition vehicles that Ford ever made. What would you put on your lists?
Intro
To say that Ford has produced a lot of trucks and SUVs over the years would be a massive understatement. They sell around a million F-Series trucks alone every year. Most of these trucks and SUVs are for the mainstream crowd. After all, they do need to appeal to the masses. But on occasion, Ford likes to whip up something a little special. They make a limited edition or performance model that is not meant for the masses, but for a subset of enthusiasts. And over the years Ford has offered many of these special models. Some of them are among the best products Ford ever made. Others are largely forgettable. With that in mind, we came up with a list of the five best and five worst special edition Ford vehicles throughout history. Would any of these make your list?
Image: Ford
Worst # 5 – 2002 Lincoln Blackwood
Eagle-eye readers may notice that our first vehicle does not wear a Ford badge. But Lincoln is a Ford brand, and the Blackwood deserves a spot on this list. Ford attempted a luxury pickup and the results were mixed at best. The truck had limited capability due to being offered in rear-wheel drive only. But the truck bed was not really a bed. It was a carpeted trunk. No one was going to use that space to haul anything that most people put in the back of a truck. And for the privilege of buying a truck that could not be used as a truck, Ford asked for $20K more than an F-150. The Blackwood was killed after just one year.
Image: Ford
Best # 5 – 1991/92 F-150/Bronco Nite Package
Now this one we like. It is nothing really beyond a simple appearance package, but we like it all the same. The Nite Package was available on the 1991 and 1992 F-150 and Bronco models. It came with black paint and trim, a multicolor strip down the side and a ‘Nite’ decal on the side and tailgate. It was a simple and clean look that was perfect for the time period and still looks good today.
Image: Ford
Worst # 4 – 2022 Ice White Edition Mustang Mach-E
The opposite of black is white and as much as we like the Nite package we dislike the Ice White Edition Mustang Mach-E. A problem that a lot of folks have with the EV SUV is that it took the Mustang name. And this special edition Mach-E doubles down on that. Ford offered a triple white Mustang on the much-loved fox body in 1993. They honored it with a 2022 triple white Mustang. Fine. But they gave the Mach-E the same treatment. We call foul. No matter what color it is, the Mach-E is not a Mustang.
Image: Ford
Best # 4 – Bronco Raptor
418 horsepower. 37-inch tires. Fox adaptive dampers. 0 to 60 in about five and a half seconds. How can this not be on our list as one of the best Ford special editions? If your argument is that the Bronco Raptor is not a true special edition, then re-read the first four statements. Tell me that is not special.
Image: Ford
Worst # 3 – 1961 F-100 Styleside
In 1961 Ford want to create a unibody design that would make the cab and bed all one piece. And they did that with the rear-wheel drive Styleside pickup. It looked great. The problem was if you loaded up the truck bed it would cause the cab to flex to the point where the doors could not be opened. The problem was so bad Ford was forced to use the truck bed from the previous generation F-series. That lead to these 1961 F-100 Styleside trucks being referred to as wrong beds.
Image: Ford
Best # 3 – 1999 – 2004 F-150 SVT Lightning
The SVT Lightning returned for a second generation in 1999. This time it was packing a supercharged 5.4L V8 making 360 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. It could hit 60 mph in just over 6 seconds which was damn quick for a pickup from the last century. The SVT Lightning was available only as a regular cab, with a short box step side configuration. It looked great, sounded great and performed great. It is one of our favorites.
Image: Ford
Worst # 2 – 1991 SkyRanger
This truck was never technically built by Ford, but it does wear a Ford badge, so we have to include it here. In 1991, 17 of these convertible Ford truck things were built by the American Sunroof Company (ASC). The idea was to show Ford how cool these were, and Ford would be so in love with the idea that they would ask for more to be built. Instead, Ford saw what you and I both saw. There is basically no market for a convertible truck with ground effects and a rear spoiler. If you are one of the few that wants one of these, keep your eyes open because they don't come up for sale very often. This one was listed on Barn Finds a couple of years ago.
Image: Barn Finds
Best # 2 – 1971 – 1975 Baja Bronco
Bill Stroppe Broncos won both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. To celebrate that success Ford announced that they would release a limited number of Baja Broncos starting in 1971. These special Broncos would be started at Ford but finished by Stroppe in his shop in Long Beach, California. Roughly 450 of these were made. Besides the unique paint scheme, they had an extra cooling package, a special exhaust and a heavy-duty suspension. It also got fender flares, special wheels and tires, and a lot more. These are truly special Broncos and one of the best special editions ever. The one pictured here was sold at Mecum back in 2018.
Image: Mecum
Worst # 1 – 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition
What do you get when you mix hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex with a Ford Expedition? You get the worst special edition vehicle Ford ever created. If you like subtle, then this SUV is not for you. This has 20-inch chrome wheels, two-tone paint, special FMF badges, and a body kit that combine to make for a rather silly looking SUV. The one pictured here crossed the block at a recent Mecum auction and the owner decided to add even more chrome bits. If you cleaned out the shelves at your local Pep Boys and stuck everything you got to your truck, this is what you would end up with.
Image: Mecum
Best # 1 – 2010 - 2014 F-150 SVT Raptor
The OG Raptor changed the pickup truck game. When the F-150 SVT Raptor came out in 2010 there was nothing else like it on the market. In fact, there was never anything else like it on the market. A trophy truck for the street. The Raptor, especially when equipped with the 411 horsepower 6.2L V8, did things that no truck before it could do. This high-speed desert runner will go down as one of the most significant production vehicles ever produced.
Image: Ford