Ford releases Chip Foose-designed, 450bhp F150 for fall of 2007

In another of the lifestyle branding partnerships that are becoming so common, Ford has announced the release of its F150 pickup as styled by Chip Foose, star of TV's "Overhaulin" and custom vehicle builder for "Gone in 60 Seconds."

The Ford truck team sat down with hot rod celebrity Chip Foose last year at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) convention in Las Vegas – the heart of the red-hot $34 billion auto aftermarket industry – and issued a daunting challenge:

“We asked Chip Foose to design a tough, muscular street rod based on the Ford F-150 FX2 Sport pickup that will knock the socks off even the most hard-core boulevard cruiser fan,” says Ben Poore, Ford Truck group marketing manager. “And let’s make it available in less than a year before the 2007 SEMA show.”

Right there and then, the seven-time winner of “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award” grabbed a No. 2 pencil and sketched out a conceptual offshoot of the popular pick-up with design elements that visually lower the truck.

It started with big 22-inch original wheels that fill the wheel wells with larger flares, causing the pickup to look lower. Foose also designed and fabricated a custom rocker panel that enhances the lowered look even though the truck was only slightly lowered.

“How the vehicle sits and how the wheels are proportioned to the body is the first essence to give it the illusion of something lower than it is,” says Foose. Wide, bold racing stripes further accentuate the planted stance.

Foose also has replaced the Ford F-150 FX2 Sport’s dark billet grille and bumper opening with a new grille design with horizontal bars that makes the frame look shorter. Then, he has surrounded the design with lower rocker moldings that seemingly further drop the pickup. Chip Foose’s primary personal ride is a souped-up 2005 Ford F-150 Lariat, so he was no stranger to the body shape.

Foose touches are carried into the interior, with Chip Foose signature headrests and floor mats. A unique, leather-wrapped center console features a Foose-designed serialization plate with vehicle identification number (VIN) and build-sequence numbers mounted on the ashtray door.

To match its muscular look, the Ford F-150 Foose Edition is the fastest and most powerful half-ton truck on the market. The intercooled, supercharged Triton® V-8 pumps out 450 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 500 pounds-foot of torque at 4,000 rpm.

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