2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Spy Photos Hint at SVT Lightning Successor

Ford might be preparing a new truck destined to take on the race track. 

A new set of spy photos suggests that the brand could be engineering a follow up to the F-150 SVT Lightning, a street performance truck.

In the photos, we can see two pickup truck prototypes. One of them is wearing a widebody kit along with large Fox shocks, clearly tipping it as a mule for the upcoming Ford Raptor. The other truck appears to have the same dual exhaust setup, which means it likely has the same high performance 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo engine, though the shocks and wide rear track are not present on the second mule, suggesting that a high performance powertrain may find its way into a standard F-150, giving birth to a new SVT Lightning.

SEE ALSO: 2017 Ford Raptor Video, First Look

At the Detroit Auto Show, Ford claimed that the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 will make more than 411 hp, with some estimates pegging it closer to 500. Our spy photographers claim that the truck returned to Ford’s SVT workshop when it was finished testing.

Before we get too excited, there is a chance that both trucks are just early test mules for the Raptor, based on the lack of performance wheels and tires on the truck wearing the standard body. But, Ford has announced that it is pushing to unveil a number of new performance vehicles before 2020, so a street-performance F-150 is not out of the question.

UPDATE: After publication, Mike Levine, Ford Motor Company’s Truck Communications Manager, tweeted “There are no current plans to build a new F-150 Lightning. The trucks in the photos are Raptor prototypes.”

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