Latest News
Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsWhat Is Ford SVT?
Ford’s SVT, or Special Vehicles Team, produced high performance variants that still impress today.
For the Enthusiasts, First and Last
For Ford Motor Company die-hards, the letters SVT signify speed, power, and technical sophistication and comes attached to the best-of-the-best factory versions of select vehicles. SVT, or the Special Vehicles Team, was a reimagining of Ford’s performance division, the SVO or Special Vehicle Operations which dated back to the early 1980s. The SVT was spearheaded by former SVO leadership including John Plant, Robert Burnham, and Janine Bay. Starting in 1991, their goal was to forge a new performance division within Ford, one to excite enthusiasts and burnish the Ford brand with new halo versions of their most successful nameplates.
And they did just that, producing some of the most memorable and laudable iterations of both the Mustang and the F-150, as well as souped-up versions of the Contour and Focus (yes, you read that right). SVT vehicles were often produced in limited runs, making them especially valuable to collectors today.
SVT Mustang Cobra
The SVT Mustang Cobra debuted alongside the SVT F-150 Lightning at the Detroit Auto Show in 1992. The SVT Cobra sported a tuned version of Ford’s 5.0L Winsor V8 making 235 horsepower. The SVT Cobra received a lot of upgrades over the regular Fox-body Mustang of the time. The suspension handled better and provided a smoother ride thanks to new sway bars and new springs. It also received rear disc brakes, 17-inch wheels, and an upgraded five-speed manual transmission.
The SVT Cobra was offered in two trims: base and R. The R, standing for racing, was a special edition model, stripped down to its essentials (saving 450 lbs. in all) and produced in low numbers (just 107 units for that initial 1993 model year).
The SVT Cobra received a redesign along with the regular Mustang for the 1994 model year. An Indy Pace Car version, exclusively in red, saw a limited release of 1,000 units. The Cobra R returned for the ’95 model year, now with 300 horsepower thanks to a new 5.8L Winsor V8. Sales of the ’95 Cobra R were limited to those with a racing license or a racing team. In 1996, the SVT Cobra was given a new 4.6L DOHC V8 making 305 horsepower. This same year Ford gave 1,999 SVT Cobras an exclusive Mystic color-shifting paint job (the 2004 version would be dubbed the Mystichrome Mustang).
A third version of the SVT Cobra R arrived in 2000. It was the fastest factory Mustang to date (177 mph top speed), came only in red, and put up 385 horsepower. Just 300 units were produced. The 2004 SVT Cobra would be the last before the SVT division was merged with the Ford Racing division to form Ford Performance.
SVT F-150 Lightning
You may have heard of Ford’s new Lightning electric pickup, but did you know that nameplate’s heritage dates back to the first days of the SVT? Debuting alongside the SVT Cobra, the SVT Lightning was a performance version of Ford’s F-150. The Lightning was powered by a 5.8L Winsor V8 making 240 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque. Like the SVT Cobra, the Lightning’s suspension was given special treatment with the addition of anti-roll bars front and back and custom shocks. It was built with the F-250’s frame rails for a stiffer chassis. Visual cues included fog lamps, a front air dam, a special gauge cluster (reading up to 120 mph), and suede bucket seats. Unlike the Mustang, the SVT Lightning did not last long, only seeing three years of production.
SVT Contour
Is it odd that Ford chose to make a performance version of their rental fleet special, the Contour? Yes … yes, it is, but they did. In 1998, they gave the Contour a specially tuned 2.5L V6 with 195 horsepower and a five-speed manual transmission along with an upgraded suspension, new brakes, SVT-style white gauges, and new body work that included fog lights and an air dam just like the Lightning. The SVT Contour lasted through the 2000 model year.
SVT Focus
Thought Ford was done giving performance parts to their economy cars? Wrong! For the 2002 model year, the Focus got the SVT treatment as well. It made a bit more sense in the case of the Focus, which already had a WRC racing version dating back to 1999. The SVT Focus came as either a three-door or five-door hatchback. Under the hood was a 2.0L Zetec four-cylinder making 170 horsepower (up from the regular Focus’ 130 hp) that was tuned with the help of the British engineering company Cosworth. This came paired with a six-speed manual transmission. The SVT Focus saw just over 14,000 units built during its three-year run.
SVT Thunder, Raptor, and Others
Plans for an SVT version of the Ford Expedition got to the prototype stage but never made it to market thanks to an impending generational turnover. The SVT name would be revised for the first generation of the Ford Raptor in 2010, this time giving the F-150 the Baja off-road treatment. The SVT is also credited with work on the Shelby GT500 and the Ford GT.
