Maverick

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

In standard guise, the Ford Maverick may not be the most capable truck. But in the compact monocoque segment, few competitors can hold a candle to it, and the sales figures show that the market believes the same is true.

What we weren't expecting is this small truck taking to the strip and giving the V8 muscle car scene a run for its money. This latest video, posted by Buschur Racing in glorious 240p resolution, shows a tuned 2.0-liter inline-four EcoBoost AWD FX4 model taking to the strip and setting a respectable time that could make some traditional muscle car fans start to scratch their heads.

Buschur's Maverick has been fitted with a pro vented catch can, front intercooler, cat-back exhaust system, 3.0-inch air intake, and a custom 93-octane Five Star ECU retune. The final power output isn't disclosed by the tuner, but we can see that the compact truck clears a quarter mile in 13.565 seconds at 100 mph. This would technically make it the fastest Maverick in the aftermarket scene right now.

Buschur says that he isn't stopping here, after finishing the night off in second place having lost to a Ford Ranger that also had some work done under the hood. In the coming months, the tuning package will be revised to make the Maverick even faster with some help from an upgraded turbocharging system.

The Maverick isn't the first entry into the monocoque truck scene, and by the looks of current trends, it's unlikely to be the last. Stellantis has also expressed a desire to introduce a Ram product into this segment which will likely be electrified if it does arrive.

With more competition, brands may start stretching the limits of their compact trucks in order to increase their market share. If the rivalry becomes more intense, let's cross our fingers that this may lead to performance derivatives, even if they may take advantage of electric power. As we can see from this drag race, there certainly is an appeal and a case to be made for fast compact trucks.