The Dearborn automaker is irked by comparisons between HPVO and SVT made last week by a GM spokesman who said Ford put SVT on hiatus for a time. "Ford SVT did the same thing a few years ago and they are back," the GM spokesman said, holding out the prospect that HPVO may be revived.
But Ford SVT spokesman Patrick Hespen counters that portrayal in an e-mailed message to Inside Line:
"A GM rep has been quoted quite extensively regarding the HPVO situation, and has been telling media that SVT went away for a time. The information he's been giving out about Ford's SVT is not accurate. SVT was never on hiatus, or shutdown. SVT developed the 2005-'06 Ford GT and the 2007-'09 Shelby GT500. Both of these vehicles were fully engineered by SVT. Granted, they were not specifically badged as SVT vehicles, but they were responsible for their development."
Ford SVT as a brand left the market in 2004, after the demise of the SVT Focus and the SVT Cobra — an exit that was well documented at the time in publications ranging from the Detroit News to Car and Driver.
SVT, or Special Vehicle Team, made its debut in 1992 with the Mustang Cobra and the F-150 Lightning pickup.
In a follow-up e-mail, Hespen underscored that "SVT's health is not in question." He pointed to two new vehicles coming out of SVT later this year: the 2010 Shelby GT500 and the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor.
"The high-performance models that come out of SVT are all profitable vehicles that have solid business cases," Hespen said. "They cast important halos for the Mustang and F-150 lines and show just how capable those platforms can be."
Last December, Ford announced that the North American SVT and European TeamRS performance vehicle organizations will come together to focus on the development of global performance vehicles.
Inside Line says: HPVO may be dead for now, but SVT lives — at least for the time being. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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