Ford's 2014 F-150 Tremor Is A Lightning Aftershock

Ford just introduced its new sport-minded pickup, the Aftershock, the Tremor.

Powered by the well-liked 3.5L twin-turbo Ecoboost motor, this single-cab, short-bed pickup is hoping to bridge the gap between the workhorse F-150 and the vacanct spot behind by the long-departed SVT Lightning.  Fans of the beloved old Special Vehicle Teams truck will be pleased to know that the Tremor embodies what the Lightning once held as its core values.

Here's the power comparison: the Lightning had 380 horsepower from its supercharged 5.4L V8, the Tremor 365 from its new-age, twin-turbo V6.  The old Lightning put down 450 lb.-ft. of torque, the Tremor making 420.  No word has been released yet on weight, but this will definitely clue us in as to how close the Tremor will be to the Lightning in terms of performance.

The big news here, as this is a "sport performance truck," is the pairing of the Ecoboost to the 4.10 rear end, giving it the shortest ratio and, subsequently, strong acceleration and burnout-producing goodness.  Other features of the Tremor package include flat black accents, a graphics package, 20" black-painted wheels, and HID headlights.  Bucket seats are standard, and you even get some red stitching along the interior.  Ford has yet to release pricing but it should be reasonable - and with the Ecoboost on board there's a lot of room to turn this into a 2014 Lightning wanna-be.  Yet it will be hard not to miss the dual side exhaust and the supercharged V8 road, trademarks that helped make the Lightning a pickup-turned-sports-car.

So the Tremor is exactly as its name implies.  By definition, a tremor is a slight earthquake, a sort of an aftershock.  The Ford F-150 Tremor is just that: less powerful, less exciting, and less dramatic than the old SVT Lightning that it's hoping to be the spiritual successor to.  Here's to hoping the Tremor succeeds enough so that Ford is willing to put the SVT moniker back on the side of an F-series truck some day in the future, reviving the true performance truck breed.

- Ross, 6/27/13

Image credit: World Car Fans