RICHMOND, Michigan — The compact Ford Maverick Lobo street truck is a treat. Lowered chassis, Turbofan wheels, four-wheel-drift mode. All that’s missing is a supercharged Coyote V-8 engine.

EEEEEEAHWWWRRGH! Say hello to big brother, Ford F-150 Lobo with Supercharger Kit.

The Dream Cruise is gonna freak over this beast. I exited Rapid Road in Pontiac onto Woodward in my Rapid Red Metallic-painted tester and nailed the throttle. Rapid Red, indeed. Like the bastard child of a coyote and Tasmanian Devil, the 700-horsepower, forced-induction, 5.0-liter V-8 shrieked like a banshee out of Hell. EEEEEEAHWWWRRGH!

Call it Super Lobo.

Just in time for this summer’s cruisin’, Ford offers the Supercharger Kit as a 300-horsepower (300 horsepower!) upgrade to the F-150 Lobo’s standard, 400-horse Coyote V-8. I’m not making this up. In fact, you can get the Supercharger Kit on any V8-equipped F-150 or Mustang GT to make them sound like a banshee. The Super ‘Stang will actually pump out 810 horses. I’m still not making this up.

More: Supercharge me: Ford kit boosts horsepower for F-150, Mustang V-8s

Unlike some other brands, Ford never shelved its V-8s, and — now that draconian U.S. emissions standards have been shelved — internal combustion engines are off the leash. The $60K Lobo is the appetizer to the F-150’s performance truck lineup that includes the $67K Tremor dirt-kicker, $82K Raptor super-truck, and $113K Raptor R mega-truck.

But for those who want their 700-horsepower V-8 a la carte instead of the loaded, Fox-shocked, leather-wrapped $113,525 Raptor R Imperial Star Destroyer — there’s the Lobo Supercharger Kit. Complete with factory-installed warranty.

Just order the $59,605 F-150 Lobo entrée.

Add a side of Whipple supercharger for $10,200.

Add $7,300 Supercharger installation fee.

Your $77,105 Super Lobo comin’ right up ($85,330 if you supercharge the Tremor V-8).

Deeeetroit-licious.

Lobo is based on the F-150’s affordable, non-work-truck, entry-level STX trim.

Two-inch lowered chassis, front-and-side body skirts to accentuate the low-rider look, horizontal light signature across the grille, black hood vents, 22-inch, low-profile black wheels wrapped in all-season tires. It’s handsome, but doesn’t scream street truck like li’l bro’ Lobo.

You certainly wouldn’t expect it to have 700 ponies under the hood.

No L-O-B-O badge stamped across the grille (a la the R-A-P-T-O-R). No giant hood scoop. No bulging fenders. It’s not as low as street legends of yore like the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning or Dodge Ram SRT-10.

Hoist yourself inside the F-150 Lobo (even with lowered chassis, wee Mrs. Payne still needed a ladder) and the STX grade is more apparent. What? No push-button start?

Manual cloth seats, no individual climate controls, no heated steering wheel, no wireless charging pad for my phone.

I inserted the old-school key in the ignition and the V-8 roared to life, the supercharger whining like, well, a coyote that hadn’t been fed in a week.

True to Ford’s tech-forward vision, twin digital 12-inch instrument and infotainment screens guided my way. The system quickly synced with my Android phone, including the Android Auto app that houses my Sirius XM account and Google Maps app.

“Hey, Google,” I barked. “Navigate to Sunrise BP Station, Richmond, Michigan.” (Sunrise stations pop my favorite popcorn for movie nights.)

Done.

“Hey, Google. Tune to Sirius XM NASCAR Channel.”

Done.

I cruised up I-75, merged onto M-59 East, and released the Kraken. EEEEEEAHWWWRRGH!

Like a four-wheel killer whale, I ingested slower traffic like herring, hitting (number withheld to save my license) mph. Appetite slaked, Super Lobo settled into a 75 mph lope in cruise control. It’s a sleeper truck like the single cab F-150 700 that Ford sold with the same supercharged mill from 2021 to 2023.

Like the 700, it’s the 22s wrapped in all-season tires that are the giveaway.

Upscale Tremor and Raptors come standard armed with all-terrain tires for going deep off-road. The Lobo wants to stay on-road so you can blast that V-8 whenever the adrenaline rises — whether equipped with 400 horses or 700.

I made my way across 32 Mile in rural Macomb County. This is pickup country, with a diversity of wildlife spanning everything from work trucks to Raptors to Cybertrucks. Lobo would fit in nicely for business owners at a work site: not too showy to put off crews, but with enough swagger to raise eyebrows from fellow motorheads. As Home Improvement comedian Tim Allen would say: UGH UGH UGH!

What’s with the 22-inch wheels?

It’s the Lobo street truck.

Cool. What’s under the hood?

700 horsepower. UGH UGH UGH!

Interesting that Ford did not choose — as on the smaller, twin-clutch-pack-equipped Maverick Lobo — to inject the big truck with a LOBO mode for easier drifting. No doubt Ford wanted to keep costs down so that Lobo wouldn’t push into Tremor price territory.

But Ford has also gone beyond the ol’ F-150 700 package to make sure Lobo is not just a Dream Cruise show horse, but an all-weather workhorse.

While F-150 700 was available for a variety of cabs as well as 4WD and RWD, Lobo comes in a singular, popular configuration: SuperCrew cab with 5.5-foot bed.

The pickup also comes standard with a sophisticated, four-wheel-drive transfer case featuring 4WD LOW, 4WD AUTO, or 2WD drive. Want to go 4-wheel drifting? Buy the more nimble Maverick Lobo.

F-150 Lobo brings full-size truck utility — its cabin and bed littered with 120-volt plugs, USB/USB-C ports, storage cubbies, and a ladder frame chassis rated at 7,900-pound towing that will pull your horse trailer to the farm.

On muddy, heavily-rutted 31 Mile, the Bridgestone Alenza all-seasons did nicely, though I was more careful with their low-profile sidewalls (not to mention those precious rims) than I would have been in high-profile all-terrains on sister performance trucks.

Typical of full-size pickups, you could comfortably seat the Detroit Pistons front line in the back seat. Or flip the seats up and throw a couple of bicycles back there. Or luggage, or your dog.

When Ford offered the electric Lightning truck, I enjoyed opening the front trunk to reveal — nothing. The frunk was a great place to sit and watch Dream Cruisers pass by. Screw a Whipple Supercharger on the Lobo and lifting the hood will serve a more traditional purpose.

Dude, is that a supercharger?!

Pull up to a Chevy at a Woodward stoplight, however, and they’ll never guess what’s under the hood. Until you punch the throttle and Super Lobo soars.

2026 Ford F-150 Lobo with Supercharger Kit

Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel drive, five-passenger pickup

Price: $77,105, including $2,795 destination charge (Lobo standard, $59,605)

Powerplant: 5.0-liter, supercharged V-8

Power: 700 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, sub-5.0 seconds (mfr.); towing, 7,900 pounds.

Weight: N/A

Fuel economy: EPA: 15 mpg observed

Report card

Highs: Ferocious power; affordable supertruck

Lows: Turn-key ignition; will drink a fuel pump dry

Overall: 4 stars

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