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| Ford SVT: 12 Years of Passion, Power and Engineering Excellence |
The Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) was established in 1991 to "Polish the Ford Oval," a mission very similar to the reasons behind the company's participation in motorsports. In fact, SVT was created from lessons learned by Ford's motorsports group, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), during their foray into street vehicle development with production of the Mustang SVO. Produced from 1984 to 1986, the SVO was a highly acclaimed performance Mustang, but did not receive the much needed marketing support required to meet the needs of the target customer.
Therefore, When it came time to develop the SVT program, much thought was put toward identifying the target audience: discriminating driving enthusiasts who viewed driving as a high-powered, passionate experience – not just a means of getting from point A to point B.
In order to provide the necessary support and mindset to get this new organization off on the right foot, SVT's creators, Neil Ressler and Bob Rewey (both now retired), understood the need to create a group that was outside the mainstream process and included all aspects of development, marketing and distribution. They created a small, passionate, cross-functional group of engineers, product planners, and marketing people all housed together under one roof with a common mission: to create vehicles specifically designed to meet the unique needs and desires of the knowledgeable driving enthusiast.
Key components to SVT's success include enthusiast-marketing programs that help meet the needs of enthusiast customers and fuel their passion for performance. These initiatives include:
The creation of the toll-free SVT Information Center (800-FORD-SVT) operated by a team of automotive enthusiasts that can answer any question regarding any SVT vehicle.
A network of SVT-certified Ford dealers who receive yearly training in the areas of sales and service.
Enthusiast event marketing support: SVT representatives, from both marketing and engineering, travel and support SVT displays at over 50 major automotive events and races each year.
SVT Owner's Association (SVTOA) – a national club of SVT owners and Ford enthusiasts that now numbers over 25,000 members with local chapters centered in Ford dealerships. Membership includes access to 'On-Track' events with skilled driving instructors to help owners learn the performance capabilities of their vehicles.
Each of the nearly 145,000 SVT vehicles produced since 1993 has been designed and developed with the four SVT 'Hallmarks' in mind: Performance, Substance, Exclusivity and Value. These hallmarks have not changed over the 13 years of the organization's existence and still guide the brand's vehicle development today.
The rest, as they say, is history...
1991: The Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) is founded by Ford's Neil Ressler (now retired), vice president of Research & Vehicle Technology and chief technical officer, and Robert L. Rewey (now retired), group vice president-Marketing and Sales, Ford Automotive Operations, with the simple mission to "polish the Blue Oval." A performance-oriented dealer body was enlisted to support a unique marketing operation, while the engineering duties are handled by Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE).
1992: The proposed flagship of the SVT vehicle lineup, the SVT Mustang "GT Plus", is unveiled. SVT later elects to use the Cobra name for its flagship, seeking greater differentiation from the Mustang GT. Seeking a marketing outlet, Ford Truck Operations offers up its "F-150 Performance Truck" program to SVT, which adopts it as the SVT F-150 Lightning.
1993: Production versions of the SVT Mustang Cobra, with a 235-horsepower 5.0L V-8, and SVT F-150 Lightning, with a 240-horsepower 5.8L V-8, debut at the Chicago Auto Show in February. SVT also introduces a late-year, 107-unit run of race-tuned Cobra R models featuring the removal of 'luxury' items such as the backseat and radio, but addition of adjustable shocks and larger brakes.
1994: The Mustang line gets a facelift, and the first sign of SVT signature design cues start to take shape on the SVT Mustang Cobra, such as round fog lamps and five-spoke wheels. With the Cobra being named "Official Pace Car" of the Indianapolis 500, SVT offers a 1,000-unit run of red Cobra convertibles as Official Indy 500 Pace Car replicas, complete with Indy 500 graphics and numbered plaque. SVT F-150 Lightning continues on as the dominant force in the performance truck market.
1995: The SVT Mustang Cobra convertible, available only in black, gets the option of a removable hard top. Just 499 are built. A limited run of 250 second-generation Cobra R models roll off the assembly line with a 5.8L (351-cubic inch) 'Windsor' V-8 producing 300 horsepower igniting strong aftermarket performance parts interest in items such as unique hood and wheels. The first-generation Lightning enters its final year of production as the F-150 undergoes a major makeover for 1996.
1996: Team Mustang took the engineering lead of the SVT Mustang Cobra to help fit it with an all-new, hand-built 4.6L 32-valve V-8 modular motor, producing 305 horsepower. Cobra's new 4.6L DOHC V-8 named to Ward's 10 Best Engines award list. A run of 1,999 Cobra coupes is built with special color-changing optional paint called "Mystic," the first such application in the industry. A concept sketch of the proposed SVT Contour sports sedan is revealed at the Chicago Auto Show.
1997: The all-new SVT Contour arrives in dealerships in the second quarter as a 1998 model. Based on the 160-horsepower V-6 Contour SE four-door sedan, the SVT Contour upped the 2.5-liter's output to 195 hp while upgrading brakes, wheels, tires and suspension tuning. It also added interior refinements and a more aggressive exterior look. SVT reaches the milestone of 50,000 vehicles sold
1998: SVT Contour earns accolades including Los Angeles 'Car of the Year' by The Car Show and 'Most Wanted' by Edmunds.com. Its 2.5L V-6 engine is awarded with a spot on Ward's 10 Best Engines List.
1999: SVT F-150 Lightning returns to the market based on Ford's new F-Series platform. Packing a hot new 5.4-liter supercharged SOHC V-8 producing 360 horses and 440 foot-pounds of torque, the completely redesigned SVT F-150 Lightning sets a new standard for performance trucks. Cobra undergoes major changes, including revised sheet metal, an all-new independent rear suspension system, and power from a 320-horsepower 4.6 DOHC V-8. The SVT Contour's 2.5L DOHC V6 lands on Ward's 10 Best Engines list for the second year in a row. The SVT Contour also wins recognition as one of Sport Compact Car's 8 Great Rides. The SVT Lightning is also recognized as Truckin' Truck of the Year, and is featured on the cover of Car and Driver magazine, the first time a pickup truck has received such a distinguished placement.
2000: The third-generation Cobra R rolls off the line at the Dearborn Assembly Plant as the fastest factory-built Mustang in history. Powered by a 385-horsepower, naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8 and available with SVT's first six-speed transmission, just 300 units are built. SVT Contour enters its final year of production. SVT F-150 Lightning earns a spot on Ward's 10 Best Engines list. SVT and SVTOA host over 1,000 SVT vehicles and their owners in Dearborn, MI for the first "SVT Experience," a weekend filled with road course and drag strip track events, SVT engineering seminars, and Ford facility tours. The SVT Owner's Association (SVTOA) is established as a national club to provide a link to the "factory", yet assemble like-minded owners at the local level to provide activities and track events so they can enjoy their SVT vehicles safely.
2001: The SVT F-150 Lightning receives updated styling and hardware updates resulting in 380-horsepower and is named to Ward's 10 Best Engines list, again. The SVT Mustang Cobra enters its final year of production in its current iteration, and engineering responsibility for future models is handed over to SVT Engineering. SVT enters the highly competitive and import-dominated sport compact segment with the introduction of the 2002 SVT Focus at the Chicago Auto Show.
2002: The Ford GT40 concept is revealed at the North American International Auto Show to worldwide acclaim and enthusiast demand to "build it." In March, SVT gets the call to develop the supercar, with the caveat that the first three vehicles are to be delivered in time for Ford's Centennial celebration in June 2003.
The all-new SVT Focus hits the streets featuring a unique 170-horsepower DOHC Zetec I-4 engine, six-speed manual gearbox, four-wheel disc brakes and a sport-tuned suspension riding on 17-inch wheels. Awards and accolades pour in for the SVT Focus including: Automobile's All-Star Award for best sport coupe, Sport Compact Car's 8 Great Rides award and Car and Driver's 10 Best award.
The supercharged 2003 SVT Mustang Cobra is revealed at the Chicago Auto Show with smoke billowing from its wheel wells that almost sets off McCormick Place's fire suppression system. Making 390 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque, the new Cobra, codenamed "Terminator," becomes the most powerful production Mustang in history. SVT reaches the milestone of 100,000 vehicles produced.
The SVT F-150 Lightning's 5.4L supercharged V-8 achieves a spot on Ward's 10 Best Engines list for the third year in a row.
2003: SVT's 10th Anniversary of producing performance cars and trucks. The SVT story is told with the help of Jim Campisano, editor of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords, in his book titled "Powered by SVT." To also help celebrate, SVT offers a 10th Anniversary Special Edition package on the Cobra coupe and convertible, with production limited to a total of 2,003 units. The SVT Cobra rocks the enthusiast world with the performance of its supercharged DOHC 4.6-liter "Terminator" V-8. SVT F-150 Lightning is voted by Autoweek readers as America's "Best Sport Truck" and it was certified as the "World's Fastest Production Pickup Truck" by Guinness World Records, Ltd., clocking a top speed of 147 miles per hour on Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds test track. A practical five-door version and a special three-door European Appearance Package is added to the SVT Focus model lineup, which is once again named to Car and Driver's 10 Best list.
Meanwhile, SVT delivers on their promise to have the first three production Ford GTs available for the Centennial Celebration. A parade of vehicles led by the three Ford GTs helps open the Centennial activities at World Headquarters. The day was rainy – not unlike the weather during LeMans 1966 when three GT40s crossed the finish line together beginning Ford's four-year domination of the world's most famous endurance race.
2004: The Ford GT production specifications are certified and the results are an overachievement: 550 horsepower and a 205 mph top speed. Production begins on Ford and SVT's world-class supercar, and media reviews show it competing with and beating the best performance cars in the world, some at three times the price.
On the heels of the best-selling SVT Mustang Cobra of all time (SVT produced more than 13,000 Cobras for the '03 model year), Cobra adds a limited-edition (1,010-unit run) Mystichrome Appearance Package. Mystichrome cars feature color-shifting paint, and the industry's first application of color-changing leather seat inserts. With an all-new Mustang due at a new facility for 2005, the storied Dearborn Assembly Plant – home to the Mustang for 40 years – is closed down. With an all-new F-150 waiting in the wings, the SVT Lightning also entered its final year of production as the best-selling and longest-running sport truck nameplate of all time. With a revamped Ford Focus moving to a new assembly facility, the SVT Focus closed out its critically acclaimed production run by making the full-featured European Appearance Package available in both 3- and 5-door configurations.
With nearly 145,000 sales and over 12 years of performance engineering experience, SVT looks to the future with plans to continue its performance flagship, the Mustang, and pioneer new segments born from the group's understanding and passion for performance vehicles.
Source: Ford Motor Company
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