The days of the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado SS, and Ram SRT-10 seem to be behind us. High performance in the truck market has transitioned to off-road capabilities, rather than outright street superiority. Trucks like the F-150 Raptor and upcoming Ram Rebel TRX come to mind when we mention this. Nevertheless, the aftermarket continues to fill the hole in the segment, and the 2019 Roush Nitemare F-150 is the latest example of this.
Designed specifically for street performance, the 2019 Roush Nitemare is equipped with a TVS R2650 Supercharger System bolted onto the Ford 5.0L Coyote V8, producing a total of 650 horsepower and 610 lb-ft of torque. At the drag strip, a Regular Cab 2019 Roush Nitemare F-150 catapulted from 0-60 in just 3.9 seconds. That’s practically supercar territory. A larger Nitemare Super Crew managed the same feat in 4.1 seconds. In terms of the data available, Roush claims that the 2019 Nitemare is the quickest “production truck” ever. It’s technically not OEM, but let’s not get hung up on that right now. Bottom line is that it should be, because it might be time for the Ford F-150 Lightning to come back.
Visually, the Roush Nitemare separates itself from ordinary F-150 models with a unique bumper and grille setup, special 22-inch wheels, integrated accent lighting, side panel graphics, and a side-exit exhaust system. As an option, Roush offers an active exhaust system of a proprietary design. It features a mild-mannered touring mode, a primal wide-open mode, an aggressive sport mode, and a custom mode. The system is controlled via a center-console-mounted dial.
If Ford were to build a modern F-150 Lightning, it would probably something like the Roush Nitemare. It’s been fifteen years since the performance truck was discontinued, and the pickup truck market is a different place now, with more wealthy consumers than ever before. These buyers continue to demand more comfort, power and performance year after year. With that in mind, we feel that it’s not a matter of if an automaker will build another street performance truck, but a matter of when. After all, with the 760 horsepower supercharged 5.2L V8 going in the 2020 Mustang GT500, Ford definitely has the hardware to get it done.