No wolf in sheep’s clothing, the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo does nothing to hide its aggressive nature. It’s the latest spin-off of the compact pickup and was “inspired” by the lowered performance trucks of decades past, according to the automaker. But it also picks up on the functional features of the Maverick that have made it a hit with young buyers on a budget. Here’s a first look.
The 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo is designed to bring back the era of the performance-focused street truck. It’s shown here flying through an autocross circuit.
There’s big news coming for the little Ford Maverick. Along with an assortment of mid-cycle updates, the compact pickup adds a new trim line, this one meant to bring back to life the lowered street trucks that were wildly popular in from the mid-1980s through the turn of the millennium.
Lobo gets a revised suspension, a twin-clutch rear drive unit letting it drift and torque vector, and a number of distinctive styling features that will help it stand out from the rest of the Maverick line-up.
Forward into the past
The new model started out as something of a passion play by designer Josh Blundo who joined Ford in 2019, a couple years before the original Maverick made its debut.
The Tucci Street Truck Concept.
He was a fan of the sport trucks that had all but vanished in recent decades and wondered what it might be like to bring them back to life. While imports like the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma were the popular starting point for sport truck fans in the past, Blundo was won over by the look of the Maverick and began toying with the design of the compact pickup, widening the fenders, adding a wing and front splitter, as well as unique wheels.
A prototype, put together by Tucci Hot Rods, made an auspicious appearance at the 2021 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, convincing Ford to turn it into a production model.
What’s new: design
A side view of the new Lobo.
Lobo starts off with a retuned suspension and shocks. Its front ride height is lowered 0.5-inch, the rear by 1.12 inches. The roof drops 0.8 inches lower than the rest of the Maverick line.
“We wanted to plant the truck to the ground visually,” Blundo explained during a background session Headlight.News attended late last month.
The truck gets a unique painted rear bumper and rocker moldings, distinctive front grille, painted black wheels and a black roof.
The cabin “pushes boundaries,” with “graffiti-inspired,” colors and multi-layered fabrics, said designer Kristen Keenan – who turned to her prior experience working for Nike. It adopts a combination of Grabber Blue and Electric Lime stitching, as well as the Lobo name embossed into the black driver and passenger seats.
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Powertrain upgrades
Switch to “Lobo Mode” to activate torque vectoring.
The Maverick Lobo uses the same, 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine that’s offered as an upgrade for the rest of the truck’s line-up. It punches out a peppy 238 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque that street truck fans should appreciate. But Lobo is more than just a design exercise. It’s show and go.
To start with, Lobo gets an upgraded cooling system, including a larger radiator and a new transmission oil cooler, to keep it from running hot on track or on a closed street course.
But the big news is the twin-clutch power unit for the all-wheel-drive Lobo. Along with the revised steering, it lets Lobo “drive more like a performance car,” Ford claims, by making use of torque vectoring. Power is directed to the outer rear wheel when the truck is switched into “Lobo Mode” – which is similar to the track mode on the latest-generation Ford Mustang. Lobo Mode is specifically intended for closed course use because it largely deactivates functions such as electronic stability control.
To complete the package, Lobo adds performance-tuned brakes with dual-piston front calipers borrowed from the European Ford Focus ST.
Upgrades for 2025
The “graffiti-inspired” interior of the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo.
Lobo also gets the other upgrades found on the rest of the 2025 Ford Maverick line-up, including the new 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen – 5 inches larger than before – and digital gauge cluster.
There’s an expanded suite of driver assistance systems, Ford’s CoPilot360 2.0. That includes a new 360-degree camera view,
And the “high” version of Lobo gets many of the features found on the top-trim Maverick Tremor, including a spray-in bedliner, a moonroof, a heated steering wheel and seats, and both the Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Pro Trailer Backup Assist systems – which make it easier to hitch to a trailer and then back it up when you reach your destination.
Pricing and Availability
The rest of the 2025 Ford Maverick line-up will start rolling into U.S. showrooms before the end of the year. Lobo buyers will have to wait until early in the new year to take delivery, however, though they can begin placing orders as of today.
The base version of 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo starts at $35,000, the premium version at $40,495. By comparison, the entry Maverick XL Hybrid FWD model comes in at $26,295, while the AWD Tremor is $40,495. Add $1,595 in delivery fees to all those numbers.
Those body colored ‘flaps’ under the headlights look strange.