Holy Pickup: Ford F-150 Crime Fighter
Just when we thought we'd seen every pickup truck trim package known to mankind, along comes a custom offering from one of the biggest Ford dealerships in the country, Galpin Auto Sports of Van Nuys, Calif. At a time when we've never seen more trim package options for new-truck buyers, some still want more. And for those crime-fighting enthusiasts (who probably could talk for hours about comic book heroes), this might be the perfect trim package. It's made especially for those who want to kick some bad-guy butt.
The vehicle was the brainchild of Barris Kustom Industries but built by the custom truck experts at Galpin Auto Sports. It echoes many of the styling cues from the 1966 George Barris-created Batmobile for the '60s "Batman" TV show. Think of it like a new F-150 XLT dressed up for Halloween in a Batman costume.
The most prominent feature on the pickup are the two 18-gauge steel sculpted wings that act like side rails. The bed is covered by a BAKFlip tonneau cover that allows for opening and folding from the front or back of the pickup.
The face of the Crime Fighter has an aluminum mesh grille with a milled billet bar insert in a wedge design to give it a menacing look when coming up from behind. This wild beast rides on 24-inch KMC rims and 305/35R24 Nitto tires, with a MagnaFlow dual exhaust system. If the truck looks like it rides a little lower than normal it's because of the Ground Force lowering kit and Street Scene front, side, and rear air dam and fascia.
The special Tuxedo Black paint is accented from tip to tail with Ferrari Red pin-striping. Inside, the red-and-black theme is continued with a Katzkin leather interior with heated and cooled seats accented with red piping. Bright red inserts are used throughout the dash and console, and in the front and rear doors as well.
This package, although a special and unique project between the two custom truck builders, can be ordered. The sticker price for the 2012 F-150 in the accompanying photos totals just less than $34,000 but expect the rest of the modifications (done to your own specifications, of course) to add another $30,000 to the final price tag.
We did get a chance to drive the truck around Southern California, where many drivers are quite jaded about seeing interesting and expensive cars and trucks, but that didn't matter wherever we drove. As you might imagine, this truck gets attention. We lost count of how many boys and young guys gave us a honk and a thumbs up during an hour or so of tooling around the San Fernando Valley. Without any significant engine modifications to the 5.0-liter V-8 (although Galpin will install a supercharger if you'd like), there isn't much to be said about performance. We did like the wider, grippier and lower-profile tires, which practically force you to take corners about 20 mph faster than you normally would - with comfort and control. However, everything you gain in tight handling is lost in ride quality. With so little sidewall - and a lowered and stiffer suspension feel - the everyday ride will take some getting used to. No doubt this could be improved with better shocks or even an airbag suspension.
At the time of our drive the truck was for sale, so we were pretty restricted on what we could do and how far we could go, which was just as well because the last thing we wanted to do was get caught doing something illegal with the Crime Fighter F-150. That could have made for a very awkward conversation with a police officer.
Comments
LOL!
The perfect dream pickup for the nerdy characters in The Big Bang Theory.
I am sorry this should have been Roush supercharged http://www.roushperformance.com/parts/2011-2013-50L-Ford-F-150-Supercharger-ROUSH-R2300-Phase-2-Kit-570-HP.html. Although like Alex said for obvious reasons I would not own one.
I'd buy one. Specialty vehicles will always be sought by collectors.
That is the dumbest and ugliest thing I have seen in sometime, but whatever floats your boat... .
The person who designed this must be on drugs and the Caped Crusaders should arrest that person.
Just because you can build it, doesn't mean you should build it.
puajjjj....puajjjj!!!!!
horrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oookkkkkkkaayyyyyyy...........WTF?
The batwings are lame, but I do like the way they did the pin striping around the rear tail lights and tailgate.
If they ditched the red "V" in the grill and did not have pin striping around the fog lights, it would look much better.
30,000 on top of an F150 just to get laughed at.......... NO!
Asolutely ludicrous! What a disaster! Let's hope it is a one-off!
*Absolutely* I meant!
Very nice and it will just grow in value. If you have the money to spend on something like this you are sure to get a big profit off it in years to come. They need to make a Dukes of Hazzard fiat ram truck too.
Atleast ram trucks are better looking than this overdone ugly truck Lol.I would 10x take the Superman ram over this pos.
I feel sorry for you mp, only a geek would want either of them.
You are right MP batman would be better off driving a Fiat...he would have Alfred to take the Hemi in to get the recalls fixed.
what do ya know another ford article...........
Looks like the Toyota trolls are back. Guys......once again, lets not turn this into a pointless brand bashing post. Remember that if you want to sound credible it is best to shut up.
"Remember that if you want to sound credible it is best to shut up." Now I understand why he calls himself MORON
I wouldn't be caught dead in this horrific truck.
@AJ
Whoa! I never noticed that at first glance in the pics but now that you mentioned it it is glaring back at me! That is one of my pet peeves with dual exhaust. And even if they are installed right (aftermarket - I have not seen this problem on OEM Ram duals yet) they tend to relax and get off kilter.
I want this truck, I've always loved Bat Mobiles.
Needs a floor shifter in a sport truck, the column looks so 1980's.
What a FUGLY POS!!!! Looks like a perfect truck for the FORD TROLL BOY GANG (Frank, FordTrucks1, FordTrucks77, and the rest of their cronies).
I don't particularly like it, but I can appreciate custom vehicles that I don't like. I would have to give this one a standing ovation just for doing something different and "out of the box".
Maybe its for the valley guys that like spandex.
At a recent job interview:
What would you consider to be your main weaknesses and strengths?
Well my main weakness would be my issues with reality, telling what's real from what's not.
And your strengths?
I think for make great trucks and I'm Batman.
Not any uglier than any other F-150.
THis thing is Bad to the Bone, I would die to drive it, although I really want the originally Bat Mobile like is parked at Six Flags.
why the hell have a resonator when it is quiet enough with the magnaflow muffler farther on back? they should have some way to give the truck 5.0 the tri-y headers and the x pipe on the mustang 5.0, with just 2 very unrestrictive mufflers/resonators. but for every truck manufacturer to have y pipes nowdays and the aftermarket not making true duals there has to be some reason at least, right?
btw, if any you guys are interested, for 2013 there are some limited Mr. Norm's mopars. for those who don't know, the original Mr. Norms's mopars are something along the lines of say a Yenko Chevy. google Mr. Norm's Ram 1500 or Charger. i think they will be sold at Chrysler dealerships too, if they aren't all gone.
@XS29L
not that it was fast, but it was cool the 454SS silverado that ended in 1995 was a pretty cool classic. so was the SS/T ram 1500 and the lil red ram express. and the older lightning with the 5.8 351. idk about silverado ss's though just a silverado with a 6.0. lol, any 1500 silverado with a 6.0 is rare i have only seen like 3 (besides the ss). and what about the SSR? or the limited edition Tundra that had the supercharger on it? (i know you can still order a supercharger for any 5.7 tundra).
@DenverDile "THis thing is Bad to the Bone, I would die to drive it"
You might get your wish Denver a lot of people might die driving a POS Ecobust...lol
Fix It Robin Dear
I'm pretty sure that there's an older version of this same concept parked in front of a Penske-owned Ford dealership in L.A. I've seen pics.
It's based on the older Harley Edition, and the execution is a little better I think.
Bat Ram, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpWTNsO-yLY&feature=endscreen
The real BatRam, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BX70NbwN-I
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