By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 1, 2013) We’ll call the engineer in the front passenger’s seat “Steve.” We’re at Ford’s Dearborn test track about to take an F-150 over the short off-road course that’s been set up. It’s not the Rubicon, but it’s enough to show what this truck can do. It’s when the ride comes to an end that Steve drops a bomb. “The F-150 Tremor didn’t start out as a sport truck. I was looking for better fuel economy.”

This is one of those serendipitous events, much like growing bacteria in a Petri dish that was later carelessly piled in the sink, and discovering the penicillin mold. This is not to say that “Steve” is Alexander Fleming, but that he stumbled upon something he didn’t expect; in this case one fast pickup.



“The Tremor started as an idea to help improve the F-150’s fuel economy label, and had a 3.15:1 rear axle ratio,” he says. “It didn’t work.” That, however, wasn’t going to stop “Steve” who turned the equation upside down.

Two Regular Cab trucks were cobbled together to make one. The “flow-through” center console from the FX-2 package was fitted, as were bucket seats. These last items are specified for production with leather bolsters and an Alcantara seating surface. A floor shifter was another “gotta have” feature. Since the economy axle ratio didn’t work, “Steve” went the other way and added a 4.10:1 rear axle with electronic limited slip differential. “And I had to have 20-inch wheels and tires,” he says as punctuation.

The result is a sport truck that “Steve” says will run from 0-60 mph “in much less than seven seconds. ” Available with either 2wd or 4wd, the Tremor is more SVT Lightning than Raptor, and leans on the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 for power. That comes in the form of 365 hp at 5,000 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 2,500, and an estimated fuel economy rating for the 4x2 version of 16 city/22 highway.

With just 5 percent of F-150 volume utilizing the Regular Cab option, the Tremor promises to be a limited-edition model. Judging from its leather and Alcantara interior, 20-inch rims and HID headlights under smoked covers, it’ll be more costly than your average work truck.

Also, judging from “Steve’s” Cheshire cat grin, the F-150 Tremor will be satisfyingly quick.

The Virtual Driver