Ford F-150 performance mods range in spiciness from mild to 6-wheeled Sriracha-spitting wild. Tuners on both sides of the Atlantic have even added a bit more go to the F-150 Raptor. And other pickup trucks have started to catch up. Ram will soon unleash the Hellcat-powered Rebel TRX. And Hennessey decided its 600-hp VelociRaptor needed some competition. Thus, the Goliath 500, 700, and 800 were set loose. Now, Roush Performance is giving it a go. The tuner’s recent F-150 package was more about off-road style, not speed. But Roush can do speed, too, with the F-150 Nitemare.

What is the Roush F-150 Nitemare?

Unlike Roush’s other F-150, or any flavor of Raptor, the F-150 Nitemare ditches off-roading for blistering street speed.

Externally, there isn’t much to distinguish the F-150 Nitemare from a normal regular or SuperCrew cab F-150. Roush install a sport lowering kit, as well as a new front grille and front bumper cover. The Nitemare then gets 22” black Roush wheels and Continental CrossContact tires. Roush also adds some hood, windshield, tailgate, and fender graphics, as well as some hockey-stripe side graphics. But what separates the F-150 Nitemare from simple poseurs lies underneath.

Under the hood is Ford’s 5.0-liter V8, fitted with a Roush supercharger. That bumps up the power and torque from 395 hp and 400 lb-ft to 650 hp and 610 lb-ft. Hooked up to Ford’s 10-speed automatic, and with a dual-tip performance exhaust, Roush clocked the regular cab Nitemare’s 0-60 time at 3.9 seconds. The SuperCrew version took 4.1 seconds. And with that, Roush claims the F-150 Nitemare is the quickest production truck in the world.

Admittedly, that’s stretching the definition of ‘production’ a bit. But it’s still a really quick truck.

How the Roush F-150 Nitemare compares to the competition

At the moment, the Ram Rebel TRX drops out of competition. But looking at the Nitemare’s other rivals, it’s clear Roush may be giving quite a few of them some bad dreams.

For one, the F-150 Nitemare out-blitzes anything that’s factory-stock. Motor Trend estimated the stock F-150 Raptor can do 5.2 seconds, and even with additional tuning, PaxPower’s Silverado Jackal falls behind. As do Hennessey’s Goliath 500 and 700, the Dodge Ram SRT-10, and TRD-supercharged Toyota Tundra. Even Hennessey’s 600-hp Twin-Turbo VelociRaptor is just slightly behind, running from 0-60 in 4.2 seconds.

The only trucks that might be able to out-sprint the F-150 Nitemare are Hennessey’s Goliath 800 and PaxPower’s Stage 1 and 2 V8 F-150 Raptors. PaxPower’s Stage 1 and 2 tunes supercharge the Ford V8 to 700 and 758 hp, respectively. And on 93-octane, Hennessey claims the biggest Goliath can develop 805 hp. This is one drag race we really need to see.

Pricing and availability

The Roush F-150 Nitemare is also cost-competitive. The $19,150 package can be ordered from select Ford dealers, on any V8-equipped regular or SuperCrew F-150. There are additional options, such as a smartphone-app-controlled active exhaust and leather interior, the latter of which Motor1 reviewers particularly enjoyed. But with a V8 XL F-150 starting at around $30k, it’s possible to get an F-150 Nitemare for less than the cost of a new F-150 Raptor.

And the 600 Twin-Turbo VelociRaptor is $22,500 on top of a new Raptor. Even PaxPower’s V8 Raptor conversion costs more than Roush’s Nitemare package.

However, Motor1 did note that Roush doesn’t upgrade the base F-150’s brakes. And the transmission appeared to have some minor shifting issues. But these issues were not necessarily deal-breakers. Roush does offer a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty for owners’ peace of mind.

Although, with the F-150 Nitemare’s performance, peace will be the last thing on its rivals’ minds.