Photo by KGP Photography
We just received these from Glenn Paulina, who says one of his guys caught an odd-looking Ford F-150 FX2 running around the streets of Michigan. Here's what he said:
"We caught a Ford F-150 test truck rocking a set of dual exhaust pipes unlike anything in Ford's current truck lineup. During the chase to grab some photos for closer study, the truck mule headed straight to the SVT/Roush development complex responsible for Ford's hottest products, including the SVT Raptor and a range of Mustang special projects. We're now wondering if a new version of Ford's F-150 Lightning could be in the works.
"The exhaust tips stick straight out the back, which seriously affects departure angles, so it would appear that off-roading is not the main focus of this pickup. Based on the F-150's FX2 Sport package (at least according to the graphic package and largely supported by the stance of this particular truck), it looks like this pickup is being designed to master the tarmac, leaving the Raptor to bash the back roads and two-tracks.
"The truck does have an EcoBoost badge, but that is likely to be nothing more than a remnant of the donor truck, modified with a new engine setup, creating the early test mule you see roaming the streets of Dearborn. We asked a Ford insider what was going on with this latest test truck, and he merely grinned, telling us nothing, but definitely piquing our interest. We'll remain on the case on this one, looking for more details, and perhaps some audio to get a better idea of what's going on under the skin of the F-150."
We're not sold on the notion the Lightning is coming back, but we did notice a thick tube wrapped behind the rear diff that seems oddly out of place. That would not be a good way to route the exhaust and it doesn't look rigid enough to be any kind of stablility-enhancing device. For now, it will have to remain a mystery.
