Ford to Rename SVT Division to 999

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor (Credit: Ford)

Ford has been making some excellent business decisions lately, including pushing the One Ford initiative. With the exception of Lincoln, the Blue Oval is surging forward on all fronts, but now it’s possibly undertaking a questionable move when it comes to the high-performance SVT Division. According to rumors spread by the likes of Car and Driver, that name would be switched to 999.

No, that was not a typo: 999.

If you don’t already know, SVT stands for Special Vehicle Team. That’s not a name that really gets the heart thumping, but it is a name that has a certain level of reputation and respect in the automotive world. Okay, it really just has the respect of Ford fanboys, but surely that’s better than 999.

It could be worse, because the powers that be in Ford could have decided to go with 666, although 999 is like 666 turned upside down. Let the conspiracy theories begin!

So where does the name 999 come from? It’s pretty obscure, but it was used for the name of two Ford racecars from the early part of the 20th Century. Obviously it means nothing to anybody these days, and the name really isn’t cool-sounding.

Ford is smart for trying to create a unified name for its performance models, which right now wear a myriad of distinctions like SVT, ST, and GT. So far there has been no official confirmation from Ford about the 999 name, so at this point it’s purely rumor. Still, concerned enthusiasts should let the company know if they don’t like the name. After all, that worked with saving the Fox-body Mustang.