2005 Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept
SVT Team Changes High Performance Pickup Plans from F-150 to Sport Trac
Truck enthusiasts, the new Sport Trac Adrenalin might just be your new dream ride. That is, this will be your new dream ride, come 2007. Ford showed a teaser of an SVT-tuned performance version of the Explorer Sport Trac that it unveiled earlier this year in Detroit to gauge public interest and opinion. The red-hot four-door pickup was later unveiled as part of a high-performance themed display alongside two additional SVT Fords at this years New York Auto Show.
The group responsible for this high performance truck is Fords Special Vehicle Team (SVT), an internal organization that has been tuning Ford products for nearly two decades (previously Specialty Vehicle Operations or SVO). Theyve successfully produced quicker, faster and better handling versions of everything from otherwise boring sedans, run of the mill hatchbacks, sports coupes and even pickup trucks. Aside from the Mustang Cobra, SVTs second most famous work has been the first and second generation F-150 Lightning, which had, prior to Dodges 500-horsepower Viper V10-powered Ram SRT-10, led the way for high-performance pickup trucks.
But where has the Lightning gone? Ford decided to skip out on the earth-trembling performance version of the current generation F-150, introduced at the Detroit show in 2003. Despite the success of the 500-horsepower 2003 concept, it was deemed that the vehicles poor fuel consumption and expensive development costs would be counter-productive to SVTs agenda of developing a hot variant of the Mustang. The project was shelved, leaving Chevrolets Silverado SS, to a lesser extent, and the record-setting Ram SRT-10 to keep pickup enthusiasts drooling.
Instead of continuing the F-150 Lightning legend, it looks like SVT has shifted gears to spice up the next-generation Explorer Sport Trac. Ford has opted for this slightly smaller truck for several reasons, one of which is the ability to carry more people than the Lightnings standard cab, long-bed layout could allow.
When it was introduced, the beautiful "Moonlight" Sport Trac SUT (Sport Utility Truck) dropped jaws for its styling, innovative design and safety features, but this time itll drop jaws for a whole new set of reasons: power, handling and performance.
When comparing the Adrenalin to the regular Sport Trac concept, youll notice that very little has changed. SVT boasts that Fords original design, with its "slammed" appearance, engine vent ducts, huge 21-inch five-spoke alloy wheels and 295/45R21 tires, was the exact look the team was aiming for.
The Adrenalin ditches the Sport Tracs suave appearance for attire thats much bolder, including a bright red paintjob and black chrome grille, bumper trim and headlight bezels. A few other minor differences, including body-colored side mirrors and special SVT and Adrenalin badging, round out the exterior changes.
The evolution of the SVT Sport Tracs design can also be seen inside. The red-and-black theme of the exterior bleeds into the cockpit, appearing on the heavily bolstered front and rear leather-trimmed bucket seats and door trims. Detailed red stitching on the multi-function steering wheel and the red needles on the chrome-ringed gauges add to the visual flair. Subtly contrasting shades of light and dark grey soft-touch plastics bring out the organized waterfall center console, which is loaded with goodies such as digital climate control, and a navigation system.
Its plenty clear that the Adrenalin can talk the talk, with its menacing looks, but can it walk the walk with other high performance trucks? It can, thanks to a 4.6-liter 32-valve DOHC V8 sourced from the previous generation Mustang SVT Cobra. Though the displacement is identical to the regular Sport Trac, the Adrenalin, with its Roots-type supercharger and water-to-air intercooler, produces 390 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque, a sizeable increase over the 250-horsepower and 300 lb-ft of the first Sport Trac concept.
Mated to the V8 powerplant is an advanced six-speed automatic rather than a manual gearbox. Just the same, the transmission is hardly anything to scoff at - its heavy-duty construction gives it the ability to help the Sport Trac tow a projected 6,000 pounds capacity, while the intelligent shift programming allows conservation of fuel in higher gears and consistent acceleration times.
What the Adrenalin lacks in outright pavement-ripping power, namely big cubes and 500+ horses, it gains in a low curb weight. Ford claims that by basing their hot pickup on a smaller vehicle that weighs hundreds of pounds less than a full-size behemoth, or even other pickups that are scaled-down versions of their full-size counterparts, the power-to-weight ratio should be equivalent to, if not better than, its larger rivals. At the same time, the lighter curb weight will mean a vehicle that consumes less fuel, something thats always on the minds of owners these days and especially important to Ford, as it attempts to minimize the CAFE rating for its truck lineup.
Although the original vehicle was a success, the Explorer Sport Trac had a few problems its designers may never have anticipated, namely its high center of gravity, along with a propensity to roll over, and the demand for a larger cabin and cargo bay. When designing the new concept, these issues were taken into account in order to meet the requests of the customer and to increase the vehicles flexibility.
As such, the cabin is now five inches longer and two inches wider, while the four foot-long bed has a 30 percent greater cargo carrying capacity thanks to taller rails and additional width. In addition, small items can be stowed in saddlebags, located in the bedliner.
The slightly larger concept, with its 113-inch wheelbase and 60-inch track, is still compact, especially in comparison to the full-size F-150 or Ram-based competitor. Enhancing the trucks smaller dimensions is an SVT-tuned suspension system. The concepts front and rear independent suspension setup received a full workover, complete with special high-rate springs and dampers as well as anti-roll bars. Together, the combination of a light curb weight, compact dimensions and the aggressively tuned suspension should make this the most agile, best-handling performance truck on the market.
But theres more up Fords sleeve concerning performance. The Sport Trac Adrenalin is also available with the option of all-wheel drive - yet another first for the SVT team. Previous high-performance pickups have always relied on a rear-wheel drive layout to maximize straight-line performance and entertaining burnouts. With a system thats been configured to deliver 40:60-split power delivery, the Adrenalin maintains a rear bias allowing for ideal traction during hard launches and in slippery conditions, curing a long-time issue of muscle trucks.
As with the first Sport Trac concept, the Adrenalin will feature the Volvo-developed Roll Stability Control system, which uses on-board sensors to cut engine power and/or apply the brakes to prevent the truck from rolling over under hard cornering, and resultantly solving one of the current Sport Tracs most disconcerting problems. The system works in tandem with AdvanceTrac, Fords anti-skid/traction control system, to help drivers maintain control in slippery conditions or emergency maneuvers.
The Sport Trac Adrenalin concept is a change from the usual for SVT, but its a change for the better. The Adrenalin is faster, safer, and smarter than past performance trucks, but its also more practical with its larger cabin, bed and towing capacity. As such, when the vehicle goes into production in 2007, it will undoubtedly be a hit, one of the most desirable and best performing sport trucks to date.