DETROIT -- Think of the 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor pickup as the on-road counterpart to the Raptor, Ford’s over-the-top, off-road performance truck.
The Tremor, which goes on sale in the fourth quarter, will be a sporty truck geared to “street truck enthusiasts,” Ford said in a statement. Ford surprised automotive journalists with the unveiling today.
The Tremor is the first regular-cab F-150 powered by Ford’s 3.5-liter, V-6 EcoBoost engine and the 11th pickup in the F-150 lineup. Ford said 0-to-60 mph acceleration times should be in the six-second range. The Tremor has an electronic locking rear differential that comes standard on both the two- and four-wheel-drive versions.
The Tremor is geared to sporting enthusiast buyers who don’t necessarily use their pickups for work.
“We knew there was a market for an on-road performance vehicle,” said Doug Scott, Ford truck marketing manager. Scott said the Tremor will be a niche vehicle, since standard cabs account for only about 5 percent of Ford’s F-150 volume.
The short-wheelbase Tremor features 20-inch black wheels and matching black body accents. It will be the only F-150 to offer a flow-through center console, floor shifter and bucket seats.
Scott said the Tremor would occupy a similar place in the lineup to the Lightning, a performance street truck Ford sold from 1993 to 2004. The Lightning was once rated the world’s fastest production pickup.
This isn’t the first time Ford has used the Tremor name. In 1998, the company showed a Ford Explorer Tremor Concept at the Detroit auto show. Starting in 2003, Ford offered a Tremor option package on its Ranger compact pickup.
Send us a letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
