There are only a handful of companies in the world that have a reputation and rich heritage like Roush. Roush has been in performance engineering since 1976. The company’s founder, Jack Roush, had a drag racing team in the early 70s, so you can be assured of the quality of work on Roush-modded trucks. Roush has been associated with Ford for decades now and has created a lot of trucks for the Blue Oval. Its latest creation is the Roush F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition. The truck is powered by the same Coyote V-8 engine, but in a different power tune and with few more add-ons to make it an absolute beast. Roush brought the truck to the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas and announced that the production will be limited to merely 150 examples. Talk about exclusivity here!

Overview

Not that long ago, trucks were the most utilitarian breed of vehicles on this planet. From being barebone cargo-haulers to vehicles with posh cabins, trucks have gone through an evolution. However, fast trucks are still a niche and not many automakers make them. Electrification is bound to change this, but the current crop doesn’t have a lot of ‘fast’ trucks. Of the handful, the Ram Rebel TRX is one engineered to go like a bullet, thanks to the V-8 Hellcat engine under the hood that makes 707 horses. There is news of Ford coming up with the much-awaited V-8 engine for the Raptor as well. But to fulfill our cravings, aftermarket performance companies have been serving us for quite some time now. Roush is one such company that has created a beauty to feature a supercharger and churn out over 600 horses. The Roush F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition, as the name suggests, is equipped with 5.11 Tactical gear amongst a lot of other add-ons. Pretty exciting, right?

Exterior

Roush will offer the F-150 Tactical Edition in two different shades; with the black shade being my personal favorite. There are a lot of new parts around the body, but the essence of the F-150 is retained. Up front, the truck features a Roush-exclusive grille that we’ve seen previously as well. It is basically a black mesh grille with a plastic strip running from one end to the other with Roush embossed on it. It replaces the Blue Oval badge and there is no sighting of Ford’s moniker anywhere here. This custom grille comes with integrated accent lighting, which is basically three LED ' twinkling stars' on the top border of the grille. C-shaped lights surrounding this complete how the face looks, and I must say, it is a handsome one.

The bumper at the bottom comes with a lot of black plastic elements on it. There’s a lip underneath the bumper for aerodynamic purposes. The bumper retains the square fog lamps and the tow hooks as it is. Moving up, the windshield comes with a ROUSH sticker at the top. Roush is also offering a Baja-inspired chase rack with dual 10-inch Rigid SR Pro Series light bars with 7,920 lumens of output to provide a powerful light source for nighttime excursions as an option for a later date.

The side profile is quite attractive as well. The flared wheel arches feature accents lights, similar to the bumper. Roush has installed puddle lamps that display the Roush logo on the ground when the doors are unlocked or the doors are opened. There’s no word on their integration, but it will most likely be in the telescopic wing mirrors or underneath the side skirting. These mirrors can be extended outwards to help you view all the action happening at the back of the truck. Ford has coined them as Powerscope Mirrors and this can be very helpful if you have a trailer hitched at the rear.

The F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition rides high off the ground, which has enabled Roush to equip it with fantastic 20-inch wheels with bullet beads. These wheels are wrapped in 33-inch General Grabber A/TX LT305/55R20 all-terrain tires. There are a few decals around the body, such as the Roush branding on the front doors, some grey and white geometrical figures on the side of the truck bed, and a large Roush logo on the front fenders. Thanks to the black theme all around, Roush has thankfully not added any chrome element on the truck!

The rear is rather untouched and retains all the F-150 looks as it is. The tailgate gets subtle embossments in the form of the Roush logo on the left side of the tailgate, and 5.11 badging with the Tactical Edition logo on the right-hand-side. The tailgate, otherwise, features the Blue Oval logo in the middle and the F-150 emblazoned in the middle. The F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition will be offered in Agate Black and Abyss Gray shades. Regardless of the color you choose, the truck will come standard with the special graphics package.

Interior

There are quite a few special touches on the inside as well. The Roush F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition comes with a custom gauge cluster to remind you of the exclusivity every time you get behind the steering wheel. The seats are wrapped in premium leather with Roush branding and the U.S. flag.

The Roush F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition also comes with an exclusive 5.11 Tactical Gear kit, which includes:

-* A serialized certificate of authenticity

-* Custom namesake hard case with foam insert holding

-* An LE EMT Multi-Tool

-* Spare ROUSH key fob

-* Custom tactical pen

-* Multi-tool money clip

-* Roush tactical duffle bag

-* 5.11 Tactical branding

-* Range hat

-* U.S. flag patch

Drivetrain

Roush has the technical expertise and know-how to turn the simple trucks into monstrous machines; after all, it has been into the performance for over five decades. Ford offers the F-150 in six different guises under the hood, but Roush has picked the 5.0-liter, V-8 Coyote engine as its bunny in here. Of course, the engine has been bumped up with a lot of vital supplements and steroids. In the stock form, this soon-to-be-extinct V-8 engine makes 395 horses and 400 pound-feet of torque. This combination churns out 650 ponies and 610 pound-feet of torque! It retains the same 10-speed automatic transmission, but Roush has not specified if power is sent to the all the wheels or just the rear wheels.

For me, the biggest selling point, other than the engine, of course, would be the Active Cat-Back Performance Exhaust System. This system has an electronic valve technology that adds an aggressive note to the engine. It comes with four different modes - touring, sport, off-road, and custom. A dial mounted on the console allows the drivers to switch seamlessly between each of the exhaust's 'open' and 'closed' valve positions. In its previous iterations, like the Roush Nitemare, the exhaust system could also be controlled through a mobile app where you can create a customized profile to make the truck sound just like you would want it to. This exhaust system comes with the same compatibility where you can customize the exhaust notes through the Roush Active Exhaust mobile app that’s available on iOS only. Roush has also installed a Fox 2.0 Performance Series suspension system that raises the ride height to give the truck an intimidating stance and increasing clearance to accommodate the bigger tires.

Pricing

With all these add-ons, you don’t expect the truck to be an inexpensive affair. If you did, you’re highly mistaken. Roush is charging $31,000 for this Tactical Edition package over the cost of the truck. The truck will be based on the Lariat trim only. Ford F-150 Lariat starts at $42,500. So, that effectively prices this at $73,500 without any optional add-ons.

Final Thoughts

The Roush F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition is built as tough as a rock and will surely find buyers. There are mighty changes in the drivetrain and other mechanicals that send it into a different league altogether when compared to the standard Ford F-150 Lariat. Ford has partnered with many top-tier aftermarket companies like Hennessey and Tuscany, but Roush brings out some steller packages that don’t push the cost of the vehicles into the six-figure mark. Although the $31,000 package is expensive, the performance and other stuff you get for the price seems worth it. To top it all, Roush is offering the F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition with a three-year/36,000-mile limited warranty. Roush opened the configurator for the truck in December 2019 itself, so spec yours before all the 150 examples are sold.