Hyperdrive
Ford’s High-Stakes Electric F-150 Will Start Under $40,000
- Lightning model boasts sports-car speed, ample towing capacity
- Long-time truck leader’s launch may follow Tesla, GM, Rivian
Linda Zhang, chief engineer of Ford Motor Co.’s new electric F-150 pickup, steers a 3-ton rig onto a test track at the automaker’s suburban Detroit proving grounds and mashes the accelerator. In about four seconds, she says, “We’re at 60” miles per hour. Then, a heartbeat later as the G-forces bear down, “We’re at 100.”
No wonder Ford calls its newest model the Lightning. Two electric motors give the pickup 563 horsepower capable of propelling its 6,500 pounds at sports-car speed. That’s what President Joe Biden discovered Tuesday as he took it for a spin during a visit to Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, test track and declared: “This sucker’s quick!”