The F-150 Limited – which is, naturally, limited only to the number they can sell – currently sits atop the truck’s totem pole, usurping the King Ranch and Platinum as the most expensive half-ton F-Series pickup. This will last until the boffins at Ford dream up a new super-lux trim called the Rhodium Precious Bullion Edition.
Recognizing that folks who have the means to lay out nearly a hundred grand on a pickup want the most powerful engine available, the Blue Oval has decided to plug the Raptor’s powertrain between the Limited’s fenders. This means that 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque are now at the disposal of drivers who prefer sumptuous leather seats instead of desert-busting suspensions.
In the Raptor, this EcoBoost is a helluva engine. With power ratings like these, the F-150 Limited will leapfrog its competition to offer more grunt than any other light-duty pickup currently on sale. For 2019, the Limited trim will sport a new dual exhaust system with exhaust tips smoothly integrated into new rear bumper cutouts.
No, it doesn’t have a burly V8 rumble out of those rear sewer cannons but, at least on the Raptor, this engine does not produce an exhaust note that sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Instead, it sounds like Marilyn Manson screaming into a vacuum cleaner. I’m going to wager the engineers at Ford will tune some sort of audial wizardry more in line with the Limited’s luxury persona.
Ford has also tweaked interior trappings found on the Limited. Luxurious materials used throughout include a Miko suede headliner and leather-topped instrument panel and door panels. Tungsten trims of the previous-gen Ram 1500 employed suede on the headliner and, perhaps surprisingly to those who look down their nose at these cowboy Cadillacs, it was a feature that looked and felt exceedingly upscale.
New Camel Back two-tone leather will be offered on the truck’s seats. Its front thrones are described as “multicontour” and feature Active Motion for lumbar support and massage. A heated steering wheel is present, of course, as are heated and ventilated functions up front. Each new F-150 Limited includes a laser-etched plaque on the center console armrest bearing its serial number, in case you suddenly forget what you’re driving.
Eagle-eyed truck spotters can identify the Limited thanks to its design elements, which include raised Limited lettering on the hood, a fabulous throwback to late-70s/early-80s Ford pickups that spelled out F O R D in the same location. Polished aluminum 22-inch wheels, a unique satin-finish grille, and a natty tailgate appliqué round out the Limited’s exterior bling. Standard power-deployable running boards and a power tailgate release are on board, as well.
Your author can attest to the convenience of the F-150’s 360-degree camera, a boon to parking the thing in tight spaces. Ford’s neato Pro Trailer Backup Assist, tech which helps prevent the pretzelization of truck and trailer during reverse maneuvers, is present and accounted for. Those who think they’re too manly to use this feature can simply ignore it. As someone who regularly hauls 37.5 feet of travel trailer, I think it’s great. Infotainment includes CarPlay, SYNC 3, 4G LTE, yadda yadda yadda.
It should also be noted that our intrepid Associate Editor immediately said, “I knew you’d pitch this news story” when I, erm, pitched this news story. This either says something about his astuteness or my predictability. I choose to believe the former.
The current F-150 Limited starts at $61,360 for a two-wheel drive version before climbing to just under $72,000 for a check-all-the-boxes 4×4. Get yer leather-lined power fix when the 2019 F-150 Limited appears on dealer lots later this year.
[Images: Ford Motor Company]
Tasteless, yet gaudy. I suppose it’s nice for what it is. What is it? I’d much rather have Lamont Sanford’s 1951 F-1, that was a pickup truck.
Look that’s to your eyes and they don’t interest me either but I get it. If you love big pick up trucks, one of these is like a luxurious zenith to the breed. Big rigs for a big country, etc. Oil is on the way out and I already feel wistful about cars like this. American styling trends are jarring to my eyes but US car marketers are not trying to sell them to me lol. If I’d grown up there the designs would make sense.
Agreed on the tasteless and gaudy comment above. I used to drive only domestic full sized pickups with my last one being a 2002 Silverado Z71. But in my opinion they have become too gaudy, large, and expensive. I ended up trying European in 2009 and have been that way ever since.
“I ended up trying European in 2009”
I doubt that there was a huge selection of new European pickups for sale in USA in 2009.
Good point. A T100 does pickup duty and European for daily driver duty.
Gaudy by definition is tasteless.
The outside doesn’t look much different than any other pickup. The interior comparable to other luxotrucks on the market.
“Gaudy by definition is tasteless” Perhaps my humor is a touch too subtle.
“Perhaps my humor is a touch too subtle.”
No, that’s not it.
Pehaps his back peddling isn’t subtle enough?
Well, then it’s that uninvited chromosome that’s holding you back. Wipe your chin.
“uninvited chromosome” ?
Wow, you’re an expert on DNA too.
“Wipe my chin”?
You comments do tend to drop my IQ to the level of uncontrolled drooling since I’ve been trained to communicate at the level of comprehension of the “lowest” party.
Thanks for caring.
Lou, don’t worry, he’s just saying that because of the brand name. It doesn’t matter if his adjectives are wrongly used, it SUUUUCCCKKKKSSS because Ford.
Lets just wait for the “it’ll never haul or tow anything ever because I have interviewed every domestic truck owner in the country and they all said they only buy it to show how rich they are, because $72k can’t possibly buy a BMW, Lexus or Mercedes-Benz” crowd. They should be here shortly, followed by “everyone should ONLY BUY WHAT THEY NEED which is why I drive a 3 door Yaris and it never leaves the driveway unless there is a person in every seat and the cargo area is full of necessary items” guys/gals.
Anyone with the name “Sub” has no business telling other guys to “wipe their chin” ;-)
Lou,
For the money I would buy a V6 AWD Stinger so I can get my adrenalin rush, in something that handles and a midsize 4×4 for my off road buzz.
Ford totally rips off FCA; stuffs hi-po motor from Halo product in more pedestrian offerings.
How original, Ford Autonomous Transport, Ride-Hailing & Mobility Safety Solutions, LLC.
Yeah, the sure copied RAM’s twin turbo V-6. Nobody has ever offered a high-end engine in a high-end trim, before RAM.
And, their wheels are round! HACKett ripping people off again! OMG I just noticed their doors have hinges IN THE SAME PLACE! Have they no shame?
Ford blows.
I love it! I think I’ll order two :)
Do you lose all your IQ points after a visit to the little boys’ room?
I wish FCA would hurry up and rip off Ford and but their hi-po motor from Halo product in the Ram.
Is this for real? Ford put the motor from an F150 into an F150 and somehow they are ripping off RAM?
Honestly I want to see the AWD and this motor in a blacked out regular cab with lightning emblems on the side.
The Raptor V6 is actually based upon the V6 in the Ford GT.
With that being said, @mkirk’s point is valid.
Ford moving around engines from one pickup to another pickup isn’t an FCA intellectual property……. unless you believe Hellcatting the sh!t out of every product is a proprietary strategy.
Lou,
This engine in the Raptor Ranger.
Lou,
Didn’t the EcoTurd core V6 start life in a Mazda?
@Big Al from Oz – not the 3.5 TTDI. Maybe some of the other smaller EB engines but I doubt it.
I suppose these things will sell well in cattle and oil country in
Texas, Oklahoma, NM, and AZ … but elsewhere?
Well, the Dakotas are also oil country, and there plenty of well-to-do cattle and thoroughbred ranches across Montana, Wyoming, throughout the entire Midwest, and into Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.
More importantly, there are lots of suburban dwellers who want to convey the image they’re really from one of those areas, and many have the money (well, credit) to buy or lease a $72K glam truck.
They don’t even have to be cattle and oil country. Luxury pickups are huge all over the Southeast for example.
Luxury trucks are the new way to get luxury (and space) without projecting the image that comes along with similar priced BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. You are the “common man,” not a stuck up 1%er flaunting your wealth.
“They don’t even have to be cattle and oil country.”
I’ve found that in my part of the world, the people who actually have “real” money and not huge lines of credit tend to be understated in their displays of wealth. A truck like this fits that belief since it doesn’t really stand out from the crowd.
It’s not just the multi-millionaires, but rock stars and celebrities, just wanting to blend in. It’d be too real, being caught in an everyday 3-series or Audi (non M or R-series). And who needs the choppy ride?
Luxo F-150s are the perfect answer. Or maybe they always wanted one, before they had money. Either way, mine would have a lumber rack for no good reason.
Top trim F-150’s are very popular W. Wa.
So is the opium epidemic.
@Big Al from Oz – “So is the opium epidemic.”
Incorrect.
Fentanyl tends to be the problem since it is extremely potent and very rapidly adsorbed. Fentanyl being a synthetic is an opioid. It technically isn’t an opiate i.e derived from opium poppy.
Opiates like morphine or opium are water soluble and therefore penetrate the central nervous system slowly. Fentanyl is lipophilic or fat soluble and therefore penetrates the CNS rapidly.
Calling someone a “fathead” may be a joke but does illustrate how this stuff works. LOL
Actually it was Heroin that was the big problem in some areas of W. Wa but the good news is that since the legalization of Marijuana the problem is not as bad as it was.
None of that of course is relevant to the fact that there are lots of buyers in W. Wa that have a lot of money and a lot of them like top trim F150s.
I’ll never buy one of these, but I eagerly await the arrival of that lovely engine in pick-n-pull yards in a few years. Just think of the swap possibilities…..
I like it.
And what is it with the crap about the sound? I mean, really, IF you could get the power in a battery replaced as fast as you could refill an ICE, I would take the power of a silent electric zero to 60 in 4 seconds truck over a noisy V12 any day.
Noise be damned, its power and speed.
And, I guess going against the grain, I like the front end so much more than the 150s recent Ram like attempts at manliness.
I liked the 2013 and 14 years as well.
Style and truck at the same time.
As for the additional power, come on, there is never enough power regardless of the desire to have nice seats.
Just put the damn motor into the Mustang, please.
Put it in across the SUV line as well.
“Noise be damned, its power and speed.”
I respectfully, but vehemently disagree. I don’t want to bother passers-by with my vehicle exhaust, but my brain still enjoys recognizing a pleasing mechanical sound over silence or a strained whirring.
I’d never buy one of these, but something about a 450-hp half-ton with a suede headliner makes me glad such ridiculousness exists.
And you can even spec one in Blue Jeans metallic paint with a matching interior!
The only issue I have is the name “Limited”, which sounds very upper mid-level trim and not top-of-the-line like, say, “King Boss Stud” Yeah, that’s better :)
Maybe they should revive the LTD moniker. It’s filling the same role in model lineup as that nameplate did 50 years ago.
At least there won’t be 19-year-olds name Cody driving these. It’ll be 35-year-olds named Chip & Misty.
How does ford manage to sell so many of these things while still having terrible profit margins overall?
Aluminum is expensive and everybody in the full size truck class expects the dealer to knock $10K off the MSRP before the negotiations even start.
Of course steel is gettin’ more expensive…
I read somewhere that the best selling vehicle among those that make over 250k a year was the F150 so I don’t see how this doesn’t make sense. Not everyone with money wants a German money pit. The consensus here seems to be that anyone spending 80k on these is a fool, yet one doesn’t get to the position of spending 80k on a vehicle by being a fool. Also, given depreciation, it would seem the bigger fool buys a German car or something…full sized trucks actually hold value pretty well. Jealous much?
“full sized trucks actually hold value pretty well.”
They certainly do, although I’d be interested to compare the resale values of 10YO ~120k mile XLT, Lariat, and Limited trims with similar drivetrains compared to their original purchase prices.
Engines and 4X4 make the biggest difference in resale, trim levels, not so much
That’s what I’m thinking. An F-150 Limited won’t depreciate like CLS550, but will lose more over time compared to an XLT.
I do know wealthy people with trucks, but they tend to go for the Lariat/Laramie/2LT stuff, not the Big Daddy Edition.
I kinda agree with your point.
Go buy an A8, 750, or S class for north of 100k and you are deemed a wealthy person with discerning taste. Five years later your German sled is selling cents on the dollar, literally.
Buy a pick up with every box checked and suddenly you have a small package and are compensating…five years later your truck sells for half or better what you paid for it.
I guess the smart money knows it is best to flush 100k down the toilet for a nice ride.
87 Morgan,
If you have the money would you worry about resale?
You buy because you can afford your wants.
I’ve also read that the number one vehicle driven by millionaires is, yep, you guessed it, the F-150
Yeah, but the millionaires aren’t often buying Limited trim. Lariat, perhaps.
Millionaires are like everyone else some are subtle, others not so much
Wow, quite a bit of criticism flowing today. I’m not a Ford man, but I have to say I love it. If I was wealthy enough, this Ford truck would definitely be on my short list. It’s likely to be a success because not everyone will see it only as a cynical ploy to make more money with a larger profit margin. Did you all forget that Ford is a business?
Its pick on Ford week. Next week we can get back to GM. Or Nissan. Or FCA or whatever the groupthink feels is next in line for their genius.
It’s really the engine from the Navigator, since it will probably have the transmission tuning and exhaust system that were designed for the latter rather than the Raptor. And it makes sense to offer the same engine in the top level luxury SUV and pickup.
This engine seems to actually make the Limited a step up from the Platinum when it was just a few thousand more for a different color scheme before.
Just checked this out on the configurator. For $60K+, I’d like to have more than five colors to choose from.
I haven’t read any of the comments, but this is TTAC, so I’d bet there’s a bunch sounding something like this:
1. Why would anyone need this much luxury in a truck, I’ll take my old carbed F-100 with a bench seat thanks.
2. Who would pay $72k for a new vehicle when you can get a Buick Century with two sets of tires for $1,700?
3. I bet the bed never gets scuffed; these people could just rent a truck for the 2 times a year they need one.
4. They’ll jump on them with 84 month loans and crash the market.
5. I could pay cash for this but I choose to drive the Buick Century mentioned above.
6. And don’t forget some nonsense about tariffs!
You left out Big Al and his chicken tax squawking.
Scoutdude,
This isn’t a chicken tax article.