6 Of The Fastest Ford Trucks Ever Made

Selecting the fastest Ford trucks ever made can take us back a few years, but let's remember that the good times are still rolling today. We can now enjoy high performance in Ford trucks from internal combustion engines (ICE), electric vehicles (EVs), and even hybrid powertrains. So let's see how the Ford trucks of both yesterday and today compare to each other, rated by acceleration times going from slowest to fastest. First, a few ground rules — add-on performance kits and aftermarket tuning — aren't allowed. This selection of the fastest Ford trucks ever made has all been made as production models on a Ford assembly line.

Our number six truck, the slowest of the fastest, is the 2025 Ford Ranger Raptor. This mid-size Ford truck packs a 3.0-liter V6 EcoBoost engine with an output of 405 horsepower, channelled through a 10-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. The Ranger Raptor is set up for off-road running, with Fox internal bypass shock absorbers, additional ground clearance and ride height, locking differentials in both front and rear, wider tracks, and 33" all-terrain tires.

Performance of the 2025 Ford Ranger Raptor is very good, even though it claims sixth place in our fastest Ford trucks comparison. Based on testing by Car and Driver, its time from 0-60 mph comes in at a quick 5.3 seconds, with the quarter-mile whizzing by in 14.1 seconds at a trap speed of 97 mph. It does the 0-100 mph run in a touch more, hitting the century mark in 15.0 seconds.

Here's a blast from the past, a fast Ford truck from the first decade of the 21st Century. The 2001-04 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was named "Lightning" not because it was powered by electricity, but to impress potential buyers with its raw ICE-based performance. The special Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was a project of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) that also created the rare and valuable 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra R. The formula used here was to take a supercharged Ford 5.4-liter V8 engine that cranked out 380 horsepower (20 hp more than 1999-2000 models) and drop it into a relatively lightweight F-150 standard-cab body with a flareside bed. Bilstein shocks and a shorter rear-end ratio also made an appearance in 2001. The F-150 SVT Lightning sent its prodigious power to the rear wheels only, using a four-speed automatic transmission. 

The 2004 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was another fast Ford truck that put down a 0-60 time of 5.1 seconds in Motor Trend test procedures. It was also the first Ford truck ever tested by Motor Trend that finished the quarter-mile at a speed of over 100 mph, managing a 13.6-second time while hitting 102 mph through the traps. A total of 28,124 Ford F-150 SVT Lightnings were made from 1999 to 2004 — their values have increased over time, with average sale prices holding above $30,000 for the past three years and exceptional examples going for over $50,000.

The 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor ties with the 2004 F-150 SVT Lightning in its 0-60 mph time, but comes in just behind it in both 0-100 mph and the quarter-mile. The 2017 F-150 Raptor was the first Raptor to be built on the F-150's then-new aluminum body structure, which saved some weight, but still weighed in at nearly 6,000 pounds. The 2017 model was also the first Raptor to be powered not by a V8, but by a turbocharged V6. The Raptor's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine offers 450 horsepower, split between all four wheels after traversing its 10-speed automatic transmission. Unlike the SVT Lightning's rear-drive, street-focused layout, the Raptor's suspension is set up for running flat out across the desert, with Fox shocks, added suspension travel, an improved transfer case that is able to lock both axles together, huge all-terrain tires of 315 section, and forged aluminum 17" wheels that are beadlock-ready.

The performance of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor is quite good for a V6, with 70 horsepower more than the 2004 F-150 SVT Lightning in the previous section. The 2017 Raptor can rip a 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds, while its 0-100 mph time of 13.8 seconds and its identical quarter-mile time (13.8 sec. @ 100 mph) are a tick slower than the SVT Lightning's, based on Car and Driver tests. This could be a result of the 2017 Raptor's much less aerodynamic profile, along with its all-wheel drive powertrain. Still, not bad for a 6,000-pound pickup truck.

The next truck on our list of the fastest Ford trucks ever made is a conventional gasoline-electric hybrid, the 2025 Ford F-150 XLT Hybrid. This Ford truck features Ford's PowerBoost system, which combines a 400-horsepower 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 with a 47-horsepower electric motor to provide a total combined output of 430 horsepower. This drivetrain, with its electric assist at low speeds, is much better at achieving quick acceleration times than it is at getting high fuel economy numbers — the F-150 XLT Hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 22 mpg City, 24 mpg Highway, and 23 mpg Combined. This is only 2 mpg better than the EPA's Combined rating for the non-hybrid version with the base 2.7-liter V6 engine. In its defense, the Ford F-150 Hybrid does have the ability to run in EV mode at low speeds.

But if you're more interested in great acceleration numbers than high fuel economy figures, the 2025 Ford F-150 XLT Hybrid delivers. Car and Driver was able to achieve a 0-60 mph time of 5.0 seconds flat, with 0-100 mph taking 12.8 seconds. The F-150 XLT Hybrid got through the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds, doing 102 mph as it tripped the lights at the end of the strip. And no, it was not pulling a trailer during the testing.

In the number two spot is a Ford EV, the 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning. Instead of creating the EV version of the F-150 from a clean sheet of paper, Ford chose to take a quicker route to production by simply swapping out the F-150's ICE powerplant for a pair of electric replacements, while also adding an independent rear suspension, which improves the truck's handling as well as its ride. 

The Ford F-150 Lightning is powered by two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors that produce a total combined output of either 452 or 580 horsepower and send that power to the road through direct-drive transmissions to all four wheels. The choice of the higher-powered motors requires a larger 131 kWh battery pack that provides an EPA-estimated 300 miles of range on a full charge. Curb weight comes in at a skosh under 7000 pounds, par for the course when you have a full-size pickup truck EV with a heavy battery.

Acceleration is genuinely quick when the 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning's "gas" pedal is underneath your right foot. Testing of the Ford F-150 Lightning by Car and Driver produced a 0-60 mph time of 4.0 seconds, with  0-100 mph going by in 10.6 seconds. The quarter-mile whizzes by in just over two seconds more, with a time of 12.7 seconds and a trap speed of 107 mph. EVs generally provide quick acceleration from rest, with the Ford F-150 Lightning's performance proving this point well.

Here is the fastest Ford truck ever made (so far), the 2025 Ford F-150 Raptor R. This is an unapologetically and totally ICE-powered vehicle, and very proud of it. The F-150 Raptor R is an expensive pickup truck because it replaces the usual F-150 Raptor's 3.5-liter, 450-horsepower turbo V6 with a monster 5.2-liter V8 with a supercharger bolted on. This is the same engine that can be found in the Shelby GT500, which has been tuned for this application to produce 720 ground-pounding horsepower. 

Backing up the engine in putting all that power to the ground are a ten-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Fox Dual Live Valve shock absorbers feature standard position-sensitive compression control and continuously variable rebound control for a better driving experience, in both on-road and off-road situations. Interfacing with the road surface are the F-150 Raptor R's 37" all-terrain tires, which give the F-150 Raptor R an amazing 13.0 inches of ground clearance. The downside of these huge tires? A 50.0-foot turning circle.

As you would expect from such a plentiful amount of horsepower, the Ford F-150 Raptor R has a superlative level of performance. The 0-60 mph run takes just 3.6 seconds, with the 0-100 mph sprint whizzing by in 9.1 seconds. The F-150 Raptor R nips through the quarter-mile in an impressive 12.0 seconds, tripping the lights at a speed of 113 mph, according to Car and Driver. This is one powerful pickup truck.