Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT -- the Special Vehicle Team -- and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT, as we've known it since 1992, will cease to exist.

SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the Sport Trac, called the Adrenalin, was shown at the New York Auto Show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenalin "is going to turn the performance-vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenalin was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.

A new Shelby Cobra GT 500 Mustang is due later this year as a 2007 model. But it will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, instead of SVT's network of roughly 600 dealers.

SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford to build and sell high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers that had an interest in selling performance products.

In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: The 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup, and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went on sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.

It's likely that Ford will continue to produce special-edition models of several vehicles, but they will not be sold through SVT channels.

 

It sucks Ford got rid of three letters that have one them some performance credit over the years. Perhaps its for Ford's best interests, but I know a few guys who own SVTs that aren't gonna be to happy with this.

 

Guys like me.

 

I guess Ford figures they have Carroll Shelby now.

Ford will still build some high performance vehicles, sure. But I'm worried that without the SVT group's focus and mission to steer those projects, Ford performance could become as generic as Chevy's SS models.

 

Funny how Ford is cancelling SVT and Chrysler is riding the SRT wave and cashing in.

 

Great job Ford!!! You've succeeded in killing the only good thing you had going I really have to wonder what they are thinking over at Ford these days...SVT was the best thing to happen to them in a long, long time. It's just dumb of them to drop it seeing as it has really gained alot of respect from the automotive world, especially in the last few years. They also had alot of promising porducts on the way that will now never happen or will most likely be half assed if they do get to market.

 

Ain't that the truth ...I work at a gas station and 3 nights ago I had a black SRT-10 Ram Quad Cab, a black SRT-8 300 and a black SRT-10 Viper all come in within a couple hours of each other...Then 2 nights ago I had a black SRT-8 Charger come in. SRT's are selling big time and Ford's missing out on a great oppurtunity to give them some competition.

 

SVT was a performance mindset at Ford. It wasn't merely "let's add alittle power, stiffen the ride and out you go". It was about sweetening every aspect of a donor car with the obsessiveness, attention and focus that only a car nut could stomach.

I mean, how did a guy like me end up buying a Ford SVT Contour? Because the car nuts that developed it, gave me the feeling ( 30 seconds into the test drive), that they made it just for me .

They took this bread and butter sedan, hopped up the motor with hotter cams, increased compression, free flow intake, Extrude Honed intake manifold, and dual exhaust. Regarding the exhaust...SVT engineers spent weeks at an abandoned airport...trying different systems....until they got the sound just right!. Talk about loving your work.
The gear ratios were all customized (final drive and in the gearbox), for it. It got a lighter flywheel and specific clutch. It got the high perf Euro ST brakes. Specific suspension tuning. Specific instruments. It got the HD middle east cooling system. It got Cosworth wheels. I could go on and on.... literally nothing was left untouched.


That's what SVT was about.


Imagine what a G6 would be like if those guys got their hands on one. Whooo!

 

If you don't mind a very forward question - where did you get this info from?
Insiders, website, or someone in the flesh...

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/class...tive-headlines

 

This is probably a bad idea.

 

I don't think its a great idea.


Ford seems to feel they can only compete if they churn out american toyotas...

Which makes no sense to me, Chrysler is proving everyday people will buy American cars if they are distinctly american, and farely well put together.

And I don't know how many people are gonna consider a Fusion over an corolla on its reliability... Nothing else about them is distinguishable at this point, both vanilla grocery getters.

 

Ditto...

Does brand equity, not to mention loyalty, not mean anything to these guys.....I'm totally puzzled

 

I sure hope your looking into this Proud!

 

And me too! To me, this is the worse news to come out of Ford yet.

To make things worse: SVT MADE MONEY!!!!!

I don't get Ford lately. They actively and openly say they are shrinking themselves to profitability, yet bitch & moan when Chevy claims the #1 sales title. They take plans to create a Mustang based sedan to replace the Crown Vic, and instead go with Volvo's FWD based chassis. They put the new Thunderbird on ice (was supposed to be a 2008 model), killed the LS restyling and the LS itself, began naming everything MK*, effectively destroying the historic "Mark" number based series and any possibility of a MKX coupe.

I thought it was bad when Ford Performance Division absorbed SVT. I knew it wasn't good when Coletti quit. Then I had pause when SVT was going to be expanded to include Lincoln & Mercury. Now no more exclusive SVT dealers?

That last part is what hurts the most. Charlie can go more into details of what that means.

I'm too dumbfounded Ford would do this if true.