Tested: Ford Performance’s FP700 Package Revives the F-150 Sport Truck

There once was a time when sport trucks roamed the streets. The lineage dates to the ’60s when Chevrolet first planted powerful big blocks under the hoods of its pickups. The 1990s brought the wild GMC Syclone, an all-wheel-drive truck decades ahead of its time that could beat a Ferrari 348ts in straight-line acceleration. The movement would also spawn the full-size Chevrolet Silverado 454SS and Ford SVT F-150 Lightning, which were all displacement and not much more. The Dodge Viper’s V-10 and a manual gearbox blessed the Ram 1500 SRT-10.

Though some viewed the single-cab sport truck (the SRT-10 was also offered in four-door configuration) as a dumb concept, it was a purposeful thing. It was the perfect solution for those who wanted a relatively quick ride but needed a truck bed to load a motorcycle or use for other light-duty work. Something that could provide greater functionality than a Mustang or a Camaro—and of course, massive burnouts.

And then one day, the sport truck was gone. Chevrolet’s performance truck effort never amounted to much. The SRT-10 faded away after just three years of production. Ford abandoned the Lightning nameplate, and to much dismay from enthusiasts, revived it as an electric pickup. Toyota kept the dream alive, sort of, with a factory supercharger kit for the previous-generation Tundra that took it to 504 hp.

Today, sport trucks come one way: desert-pounding, whoop-de-do-bouncing, long suspension—travel, knobby tire—equipped off-road machines branded with ZR2, TRD, Raptor, or TRX badges. Sure, they’re stupid quick in their most powerful forms, but none are available in a single-cab configuration, nor are they optimized for street driving. For those who yearn for the sport trucks of yore, the Ford Performance department now offers a solution: the FP700 package.

What Is the FP700 Package?

The FP700 isn’t a model that rolls off the production line. Instead, it’s a kit you can purchase from the parts counter to transform any 2021 or newer Ford F-150 equipped with the 400-hp 5.0-liter V-8 into a 700-hp monster. The torque also rises from 410 to 590 pound-feet. Included in the $12,350 package is a Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger, an intercooler, an engine-calibration tool, and all the necessary hoses and hardware to bring that glorious horsepower to life.

Appearance wise, the FP700 also includes Ford Performance fender vents, floor mats, and bedside graphics. There’s also a new grille, a rocker panel aero delete, a lowering kit for the rear to level out the ride height, and 22-inch wheels cribbed from the Ford Expedition Stealth Performance. Tires are not included.

If Ford’s dress-up package doesn’t suit your palate, you can buy the supercharger kit on its own for $9500. Spend a day bolting on the extra 300 horsepower with your ASE-certified buddy or ship your truck off to the local Ford dealer for the install, and the engine is warrantied for three years or 36,000 miles.

Driving the FP700 F-150

While Ford could’ve opted to install its blower on something off-road focused such as the F-150 Tremor, building a 700-hp truck that costs substantially less than the equally powerful F-150 Raptor R probably was seen as unwise. Instead, and in a throwback to the days of performance pickups, the FP700 we tested was installed in a rear-wheel-drive, single-cab, short-bed F-150.

As with anything with 700 horsepower, getting eyes on the engine is a must. A look under the hood reveals a super-clean supercharger package. The fit and finish is impeccable and looks like it came off the production line, perhaps even better.

The 5.0-liter V-8, exhaling through a $1585 Ford Performance exhaust, crackles to life with a 44-decibel idle. It’s really the only indicator this F-150 means business. The 87-decibel scream at wide-open-throttle speaks loudly too. Keep the stock exhaust, and the FP700 would be the ultimate sleeper.

Senior editor Ezra Dyer opined that a 700-hp Ford pickup delivering all its muscle through the rear tires could be labeled the F-150 Frightening. With 40.7 percent of the 4576-pound curb weight over the rear end, getting the not-racy-whatsoever 275/50R-22 General Grabber HTS 60 all-season tires to hook up should be challenging. But on the street and at the track, the FP700 was a sweetheart.

Credit much of the drivability to the optional electronically locking rear differential with 3.31:1 gearing. Compared to the 3.73 ring-and-pinion offering, this setup enables long gearing and the ability to lug the engine at lower rpm before using the full sweep of the tachometer. First gear stretches out to 41 mph, and second doesn’t stop until 64 mph. Avoid turning the Generals into a pile of dust off the line, and 60 mph arrives in 4.2 seconds. The quarter-mile shows up in 12.4 seconds at 112 mph—however, it could be way quicker.

Technically, the top speed is governed at 105 mph, for warranty reasons. Presumably to keep the driveshaft from puking out its internals like Timmy on the Tilt-a-Whirl. It takes nearly 950 feet for the FP700 to reach 105 mph in the fourth of the 10-speed transmission’s cogs and well before the coveted 1320-foot quarter-mile mark. A programming glitch allowed our test truck to power its way to 120 mph, albeit in a reduced power state. With a higher-speed limiter, the blown F-150 has the potential to be the quickest truck we’ve ever run through the quarter-mile. A brief internet search indicates the aftermarket world hasn’t cracked the latest electrical architecture that controls the newest F-150s, so 105 mph might be it for now.

Without any chassis or braking system modifications, the FP700 delivers a compliant ride just like any production F-150. The General Grabbers clung to the skidpad at 0.81 g, and stops from 70 mph required 195 feet, about what we expect from a stock setup.

The roided-out F-150 would make for one fantastic daily driver. In terms of fuel, it’ll guzzle when prompted, but when driven conservatively, we observed 23 mpg on our 200-mile highway loop. The era of the sport truck may be behind us, but Ford’s à la carte offering to build one your way is a refreshing reminder of when these beasts lived.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com