Production of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the all-electric version of the best-selling vehicle in North America got underway last week. Safe to say the pickup is eagerly awaited and many a pickup and EV fan is itching to drive it to see what it can do.
First, though, the American auto giant behind it had some good news, namely that the F-150 Lightning will offer more power and more skills than previously announced. Simply put, Ford says the batteries, both the regular and extended-range ones, will offer more.
“We were seriously focused on raising the bar on this truck, including after we revealed it, so we can deliver more for our customers,” said Dapo Adewusi, engineering manager for the F-150 Lightning.
In concrete terms, here's how the model will perform better than first announced. The extended-range version would, we were told, offer 563 hp; that has been upped to 580. As for the regular version, 426 hp had been announced, but that has grown to 452. Torque remains unchanged, regardless of the version, at 775 lb-ft.
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Even better, Ford recently announced a little more range for the XLT and Lariat variants. With the battery offering the most range, we're now talking about the possibility of going 515 hp, about 30 more than initially hoped.
Moreover, the Ford F-150 Lightning will be able to do more for its owners. Payload capacity, which had been announced at 2000 lb, is now set at 2235 lb. This is additional weight that can be carried in the body, which will certainly be useful for many entrepreneurs.
Good news all around, then, for those thinking of buying the F-150 Lightning. We'll get back to you with more details once we have more information and once we've driven the model.