The F-150 Lightning gets a particularly violent offshoot. Ford boss Jim Farley confirms a motorsport demo vehicle based on the electric pickup.
What has been rumored for a while has been official since Friday (February 3, 2023): Ford is returning to Formula 1 in 2026. Not with our own team, but as a partner of the world champion squad Red Bull Racing and its junior team Alpha Tauri. Nevertheless, the US car company thought it appropriate to announce its F1 comeback at a major event in New York.
During the event, some diagrams were shown that showed a lot of familiar things. But also an innovation on a graphic with the heading "EV Performance Demonstrators", i.e. powerful demo vehicles with electric drives. In the center of the image below the Ford emblem and the words "Ford Performance": The silhouette of a pick-up with the words "Coming Soon"; so the car will be presented soon.
In illustrious company
Given the other cars shown in the picture, it's easy to guess what awaits us there. Here comes a Ford F-150 Lightning in hardcore style, which is intended to prove the driving pleasure that electrically powered cars can bring. To this end, Ford has already launched the Mustang Mach-E 1400 , the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 and the Ford Pro Electric Supervan (see videos) over the past three years. The graphic also shows the F-100 Eluminator , with which Ford promoted its new electric drive for retrofitting ("Crate Engine") at SEMA 2021.
About a week later, Ford CEO Jim Farley himself confirmed that the car would be presented soon. He posted a photo on social media showing him with Red Bull F1 Team reserve driver and testimonial Daniel Ricciardo. You can also see the right front corner of the hardcore pickup, which suggests a white and blue color scheme and aerodynamically optimized rims. The pick-up also features a new front apron with additional air intakes and a panel on the outside of the light.
The performance? Certainly four digits!
Neither at the event in New York nor in the social media post did Ford reveal anything about the drive technology of this F-150 Lightning EV performance demonstrator. However, the other cars shown in the diagram offer clues as to which direction things could go. The F-100 Eluminator with its 210 kW (286 hp) and a maximum of 431 Newton meters will not orientate itself. After all, the production version of the F-150 Lightning (see photo show) with 458 to 589 hp and a maximum of 1,050 Newton meters is well above these values.
The other electric steam hammers shown, which come up with performance values between 1,419 hp (Mustang Mach-E 1400 and Mustang Cobra Jet 1400) or even almost 2,000 hp (Supervan), serve as a blueprint. The power is provided by several electric motors (between four and seven), which draw their energy from manageably large batteries so that the weight does not get out of hand.
Conclusion
Ford will soon expand its EV performance demonstrator trio into a quartet and integrate a particularly sharp version of the F-150 Lightning into the illustrious line-up. Nothing is known about the technology of the electric pick-up steam hammer. However, it is a given that he will be strong and fast.
