Perfect Storms: Ford Lightning and GMC Syclone Spawned Today’s Sport Trucks
Inside the halls of corporate giants like Ford Motor Company or General Motors, a passion project faces a thousand obstacles: regulations, corporate politics and culture, time, cost. Every once in a while, however, stars align, and someone seizes the chance to make something special. In the ’90s, two different teams of such people did just that. First and most sensational, the GMC Syclone, a turbocharged quarter-ton that could hang with Ferraris. Then, the one with the longest legacy: the original F-150 SVT Lightning, a half-ton hot rod whose popularity prompted SVT to develop a corner-carving follow-up that laid the groundwork for the off-road Raptor in 2010. The ripple effects of both ’90s trucks can be felt in showrooms today …
(photo credit: Evan Klein)
