Ford F-150 Lightning is expected to have a claimed driving range of at least 500 km and it will compete against GMC Hummer EV
Just over a week ago, Ford officially announced that the electric version of the highly popular F-150 would make its global debut on May 19 and a set of teasers followed. Dubbed the F-150 Lightning, it has greeted us ahead of the premiere through a set of leaked images that appeared from US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Ford River Rouge Complex – an EV factory built with USD 700 million investment, in Michigan.
The electrified pickup truck can be clearly seen behind Biden alongside the regular IC-engined F-150 and a host of old Ford utilitarians. It is no secret that the Ford F-150 Lightning has plenty in common with the standard F-150 on the inside and out. As for the exterior, it gets an upright front fascia with redesigned vertically-positioned headlamps.
A strip of LED lighting bar surrounds the headlamps and grille and it has a wider central opening in the middle portion of the bumper. The heavily chromed-out grille has been opted out for a more modern blackened unit in the F-150 Lightning with a prominent Blue Oval badge grafted in the centre. The squarish outside rearview mirrors and raked windshield look familiar.
The leaked model appears to be a crew cab version and it could have a shorter 1,676 mm bed length as in the regular F-150. The newly designed six-spoke wheels are another highlight in the zero-emission F-150. It is expected to be offered with two electric motors in its standard form and thus sending power to all four wheels.
The American manufacturer’s claims of the F-150 Lightning being quicker off the line and more powerful compared to the IC-engined pickup truck will more likely come true due to the presence of a large battery pack. For reference, the standard F-150 uses a 3.3-litre V6, a 2.7-litre V6, a 3.5-litre V6, a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, and a 3.5-litre hybrid V6 engine.
The electric pickup truck will compete against GMC Hummer EV, upcoming Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T, and the driving range will be at least 500 km in a single charge. Biden drove a prototype version of the Lightning and is said to accelerate from zero to 96 mph in just 4.3-4.4 seconds.