The F-150 Lightning has been out for a while now, and based on the sales growth Ford has announced and the numbers I see around day-to-day, it isn’t having any issue convincing people the Lightning is a worthwhile buy. That means it’s time to start rolling out more trim options, right? Feast your eyes on the new, limited-edition F-150 Lightning Platinum Black.
The Platinum Black is, as you’d expect, based on the top-tier Platinum trim level of the Lightning. From there, it gets a whole bunch of exclusive cosmetic changes to ensure it’ll stand out — ironically, by blacking out everything. It starts life as a standard-painted Agate Black truck, and is immediately outfitted with a top-to-bottom matte black wrap — save for the roof and mirrors, which stay glossy for a nice bit of contrast, matching the grille. The exclusive fat, six-spoke wheels are, you guessed it, matte black as well.
The distinctive front light bar gets a smoked wrap treatment as well, which sounds subtle, but looks great — I’d love to see this slightly dimmer bar on other colors as well. A black Ford oval sits upfront, and the Lightning badge on the tailgate gets the blacked-out treatment too. The “Lightning” graphic on both the sides of the bed goes gloss black for a little reflective contrast, and you get matching graphics on the glass roof above the rear seats, which is a fun touch.
Every Platinum Black comes with a spray-in bedliner and a black soft tonneau cover, completing the look. (And props to anyone who actually uses the bed on this beautiful limited-edition truck.)
Ford will only be making 2,000 of these, which is unfortunate because it looks great. The combination of exclusive design elements with the peace of mind you get from a factory-applied wrap rather than going aftermarket is going to seem like a worthwhile expense for Ford enthusiasts. Particularly those who are already willing to splurge for an F-150 Lightning Platinum.
If you’re so lucky as to get an allocation for a Platinum Black when it becomes available in early 2024, it’ll set you back $97,995 — or $6,000 over the Platinum’s already-lofty sticker price. And this is one of those situations that will likely stress the rumored agreement between Ford and its dealers to stop putting markups on in-demand vehicles. I can’t wait to see another one of these out in the wild.
