A new Ford F-150 XL went up against a first-generation Pontiac GTO in drag race, it was over in 10 seconds

  • A Ford F-150 XL and Pontiac GTO went head-to-head
  • The truck has a V8 heart that roars louder than most sports cars
  • It’s a wildly popular car in the US

Published on Nov 18, 2024 at 7:28 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Nov 19, 2024 at 12:36 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Forget pitching sports cars, cutting-edge EVs, and muscle machines against one another on the drag race track: this circuit saw a Ford F-150 XL and Pontiac GTO going head to head.

New Jersey’s Island Dragway featured the surprise contender earlier this month.

The Regular Cab Short Bed (RCSB) has a V8 heart that revs louder than most sports cars.

It was competing against an icon of old-school muscle – the Pontiac GTO.

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Ford F-150 XL vs Classic Pontiac GTO

The nostalgic, muscle-bound Pontiac GTO looked poised to leave the bulkier Ford in the dust.

However, the Ford F-150 XL has an aggressive burnout that left little doubt about its intentions for the drag race.

As the green light showed, the Ford launched across the start line with surprising ferocity.

It covered the quarter-mile in 10.96 seconds, leaving the GTO trailing at 14.01 seconds.

Once a wildly popular option in the US, the Tesla Cybertruck is now snapping at its heels

Check out the time the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 faced off in an extremely hot weather mountain towing test to see which handled max capacity better.

It’s certainly a celebrity favourite with Ford CEO leaving Jimmy Fallon a sweet surprise in his Ford F-150 Lightning bed.

Other Ford victories

Fresh off its victory against the muscle car, the Ford F-150 XL lined up against a Fox Body Ford Mustang GT.

Similarly, the pony couldn’t match the truck’s relentless pace of the F-150 in this drag race.

It crossed the line in 11 seconds flat, putting the Mustang’s 15.36-second attempt to shame

Next in line was the modern heavyweight: a Mercedes-AMG E 63 S that, due to sophisticated engineering appeared to be a worthy adversary.

However, the truck was able to edge out a win with an 11.06-second pass, just ahead of the AMG’s 11.58 seconds.

So what’s the secret behind the success of the Ford F-150 XL?

It isn’t just raw power, it’s also the driver’s razor-sharp reaction times and the vehicle’s perfect tuning.

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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”