Dropping Sports car Engines in Trucks, Yay or Neh?

[pimrusis]

Recently we have seen a wave of these types of trucks from manufacturers...
SRT-10 Ram
SVT Lightning
Coutach engined Lambo (although thats not really new)
Porsche Cayenne, possibly?

Do you guys think this occurance is just the accountants trying to make a few bucks, or are they actually "legitimate"?

[aawil]

I've thought all along that the SRT-10 was a cool idea and I think they pulled it off well.But If i had $40,000+ to spend I'd buy a new vette instead.

[blah]

it doesnt bother me, hell, the lightning can smoke alot of cars out there.

[kramerman]

I think of course it's a marketing and engineering trick, but it's just to fulfill a demand out there in the car market. Sure some people want a fast car, and some people want an SUV, so they just combined the two and packaged it out.

Even lingenfelter did custom conversions to a hummer to make it faster because there was a demand.. so I think that whichever car company does it, does it because they feel there would be demand for a fast SUV from their company.

One way to put it.. who wouldn't want a Cayenne?! heeh Give me one any day

[DMbaseball1604]

well when you build a ford lightning or the new dodge srt, you are basically lowering a truck and making the suspension better and putting a 500 bhp engine in there so basically its a big car, which is pointless b/c you can't go as fast or corner as well as you would in a car. I think it is stupid also because its not a truck anymore you cant really carry that much if you lower it you cant go off road hardly at all, it's just a tall car...I actually just rode in a tuned ford lightning with over 500bhp..it was completely re done..this guy does cannonball racing with it and they won their class with it. It was dang fast but I just dont see why you wouldnt put that engine in a corvette or something..b/c it would be so much faster.

[Ivanhoe]

they thought...hmmm... affordability of trucks (and likeability) + the power of a supercar= $$$. just a simple equation they made. ppl like trucks, and supercars. so why not make something similar to both? :roll:

[FoxFour]

The muscle truck has been gaining popularity for years in the US market. Until the introduction of the SVT Lightning, which is a more balanced package than the GMC Syclone or even the '93 model Lightning, is when the muscle truck phase really caught on. Now the current gen Lightning is not a sports car engine, it's the same engine in the current F-150 with the exception of forged pistons and an Eaton supercharger.
The new SRT-10 truck is the first truck to recieve an engine from a sportscar- The Viper.

[maalox]

I dunno... I have never got the NASCAR truck series (or err NASCAR in general) and so don't really get the street versions either. They can't perform like their plainer competitors when it comes to "truck stuff" like hauling etc. And they can't really compete with their true performance competitors (except perhaps in the quarter mile). From the ground up trucks just aren't designed chassis and suspension-wise for that kind of performance--so why invest the effort to transform a flawed base? Anyway, that's a pessimistic view: the answer is likely that someone out there wants a fast truck... so that's what they'll get . Just not for me.

[snacky]

I think chevy started it with the 454SS p/k in the late 80s. dodge had a midsize p/k with a 5.2 magnum that could pull mid 14's 1/4 miles as I recall during that time.

I think alotta americans are into that sorta thing, country music, NASCAR, pickup trucks, shania twain. etc. They also believe Iraq's not about the oil.

So what's worse, a civic with wings or a truck with wings? I saw a ton of em down in mexico. arrrriba !!!!

[FoxFour]

The Lightning is no Ferrari, but it can handle itself pretty compitently in the twisty stuff. The SVT version has many suspension upgrades compared to the regular F-150. I say why not have these engines in the pickups? Enough people buying them means it keeps the production costs of the engines down, and that means they would be able the pass on the savings to the consumer who buys the same engine in a sports car.

[corvette97]

well i think its kind of stupid to do performance trucks, lol, cuz' the stability sucks and the handling too, and the top speed is ridiculous ops: but i would accept any of those trucks

[Bavarias_Finest]

They are definitely legit considering a Ram SRT-10 is running a 13.7 and the others cant be far behind.

[Bavarias_Finest]

Originally Posted by corvette97 well i think its kind of stupid to do performance trucks, lol, cuz' the stability sucks and the handling too, and the top speed is ridiculous ops: but i would accept any of those trucks

I disagree it can be done.....I push my Jeep all the time going 100mph and it handles fine, with no added work or anything. Just think with added suspension in those pickups and firmer chassis, they can defintely be feasible speedsters.

[mhn3773]

americans like there trucks..or they like big cars...suvs..so why not make a fast truck for americans?? they did it in the 90s with the lightning and it did so so but they saw the new emergence of lerge vehicles in the american market so they brought it back and it did well..now dodge is on the band wagon

makes sense to me the car company makes money and stays alive another month lol

[sickx]

two words: MUSCLE CAR.
It will never die, and always has its place. These trucks with big motors are no different philosophically than the original 60s muscle cars--big motors in pedestrian chassis.

I have driven the SVT Lightning extensively on a road course, and can tell you it is a real scream. Sure, it's not faster around than a F360, but the giggle factor is unbeatable. It is a well-balanced sports car, er... truck. Sliding around turns, unwinding the supercharger at the apex, you just can't help grinning and thinking "there is NO way a truck should be able to do this!"

To all the naysayers out there--Don't knock it till you've tried it!
(ps--of COURSE I'd rather have the 360 on my garage!)