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Ford Authority

Ford F-150 Lightning EV Demonstrator Will Boast Beefy Motors

As Ford Authority reported last week, The Blue Oval is currently working on developing a high-performance demonstrator variant of the Ford F-150 Lightning, a vehicle that CEO Jim Farley teased just a few days later. Not much is known about this new one-off project at the moment – other than the fact that it will follow a handful of predecessors by serving as a showcase for Ford’s EV technology, however. Now, sources familiar with the matter have told Ford Authority that the forthcoming Ford F-150 Lightning demonstrator will feature at least one big difference when compared to the regular, road-going model.

That difference is an array of noticeably larger electric motors than the production version of the pickup, which is an indication that the Ford F-150 Lightning EV demonstrator will also pack quite a bit more power. At the moment, the extended range variant of the pickup churns out 580 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque from its two electric motors.

Judging from what we’ve seen in the past, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to how much power Ford could ultimately pack into its one-off, performance-focused F-150 Lightning. Both the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 and Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 crank out an astounding 1,400 peak horsepower, with the latter utilizing a grand total of seven motors to reach that level of output – three on the front differential and four in the rear. There’s also the the Ford Pro Electric Supervan, which makes 1,973 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-62 miles-per-hour in two seconds flat.

The Mach-E 1400 is also equipped with an array of special one-off components such as lightweight composite materials, different setups for the track and drifting, an electronic brake booster, a hydraulic handbrake system, Brembo brakes from the Mustang GT4 racer, and a 56.8-kilowatt-hour battery made up of nickel manganese cobalt pouch cells for ultra-high performance and a high discharge rate.

Given Ford’s reentry into Formula 1 with an eye toward developing its electrified technology in that series, it’s quite likely that the Ford F-150 Lightning demonstrator will serve as a true technology – and performance – showcase, no matter how much power it ultimately lays down.

We’ll have more on the F-150 Lightning performance demonstrator soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series newsFord F-150 newsF-150 Lightning news, and non-stop Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. Thurston Munn

    Geez, what a bunch of B/S. Give us better quality vehicles!!

    Reply
    1. Ford Owner

      EVs are better vehicles than fuel powered. This is why every manufacturer is switching to electrics.

      Reply
      1. RWFA

        Agreed.

        Easier to design, manufacture and maintain. Amazingly few moving parts to wear out or fail.

        Much nicer driving experience as no powertrain presence and quick acceleration.

        For the vast majority of folks in their daily use case, range anxiety and charging times are a non issue.

        Fords Q will dramatically improve as the current vehicles are superseded with the BEV variants.

        Reply
        1. eRock9202

          You must mean a vast majority of a certain income level. I have family that lives in several low-income minority predominant communities along the east coast of the US. Range anxiety, charging times, and charging infrastructure are a huge concern. When you do not have leverage to make work close to home and/or don’t work in an office environment from 9-5 with charging ports in the parking garage, EVs can seem rather daunting. Add in the poor electricity infrastructure of these communities, and you’ll start to be rather empathetic to these concerns.

          As someone who enjoys science and is a civil engineer, I am excited about the prospect of EVs. The thought of a vehicle so advanced that it makes keeping track of major automotive maintenance every 20,000 miles an outdated mindset excites me. I don’t have to worry about starting my vehicle in my garage (when I get a house one day) an toxins seeping inside. No more smog for all my coworkers who are in the field working on the highways and bridges. I can travel with a clean conscience of what is coming out my vehicle.

          As an Black American however, I have been growing increasingly frustrated with this rose-tinted view of EVs as if everyone from every income group and every region of the US can just jump into EV. I’m also getting even more frustrated with this view that anyone that points out EV concerns, issues, and current shortcomings is some anti-EV apologist who loves gas guzzling V12s. I know that’s not what you said, but your line of “For the vast majority of folks in their daily use case, range anxiety and charging times are a non issue.” is problematic. A lot of people keep saying sentiments like this all over the internet making it hard for the more level-headed and situationally aware people, especially in the science community, to ease people’s concerns.

          EVs have made great strides the past decade, but to think a “vast majority” of people’s daily needs are “a non issue” for EV is not being honest to the needs of the US’s citizens, the needs of the infrastructure, and the time it takes to overcome these issues. I believe this is why Ford US is splitting it’s ICE and BEV divisions into two independent groups; they know EV’s are the future but will most likely take longer than we’d like to transition.

          Sorry for the rant as I know this can be for naught if you aren’t even American, but these comments online overemphasizing EV’s positives all because of some conspiracists’s are exaggerating the negatives are doing more harm than good. We have to somehow try to have more level-headed views of these things, but it seems like we just get more polar and extreme every day. That is the unfortunate state of things, today.

          Reply
        2. JDE

          Now who is spouting the BEV side of K-Street?

          Reply
      2. Goodoni

        you’re an idiot!

        Reply
  2. EcoBoost29579

    Only adds to Ford’s current bad rep. Fussing with this nonsense instead of dealing with the real issues. EVs also won’t be a force to be reckoned with for at least another 10 years and at this rate, Ford will have been burnt toast.

    Reply
    1. RWFA

      LoL. Gotta admit I’m amazed by your devotion to a nonsense narrative not undergirded by any actual fact except your own antipathy.

      Reply
  3. Bob

    Well said EcoBoost, except it’s 20 years. Some of that due to limited range, most of it due to infrastructure which is 30 years out, unless they spend money like we’re going to the moon on steroids. Even with that, yes, the inner cities will lag way behind that timeline.
    Look at Farley’s expression; he looks like a 19 year old with his first fast car. That’s the priority of who’s running Ford.

    Reply
    1. RWFA

      LoL at Bob with his 20 years, 30 years, dancing the trottel two step.

      At least he’s not full idiot like the dude a couple weeks ago suggesting it will take 100 years as if we just discovered electricity yesterday or haven’t been to the moon 50 more than years ago.

      Reply
  4. Billy

    Monies could be better spent fixing damaged brand Lincoln!

    Reply
    1. RWFA

      Wait for two years.

      Reply
  5. David Pickford

    Just a couple of days ago F1 driver Daniel Riccardo was invited by Farley to drive a few of Ford’s performance vehicles which included the performance Lightening which according to Riccardo’s comments has “2000 horsepower”

    Reply
  6. JD

    Hot off the press, junk Lightning having more problems:

    Joey Klender
    Posted on February 14, 2023

    Update 1:46 PM EST: paragraph 3 updated with quote from Ford

    Ford is halting production and shipments of the F-150 Lightning, its all-electric version of the best-selling pickup truck in the United States, citing potential battery issues.

    The stop shipment order and production halt were issued early last week, Ford spokespeople said.

    “There is a Stop Build and In-Transit Stop Ship for F-150 Lightning,” Ford’s Emma Bergg told Teslarati. As part of our pre-delivery quality inspections, a vehicle displayed a potential battery issue and we are holding vehicles while we investigate.

    Reply
    1. JD

      Not surprised. MachE was dropped by Consumer Reports due to poor quality. Now the Lightning will join the MachE. EVs are indeed junk.

      Reply
      1. James

        Hopefully they fix the quality issues before the Lincoln trim version of Mach E gets imported from China next year.

        Reply
      2. RWFA

        🤣 ROFL ROFL HAHAHAHA, AH HAHAHAHA, here we have J(ust for)D(ummies) amping his own comment.

        LoL and I thought Dwayne D was the DD-grade dunce in the K-street troll team.

        Looks like there is some real competition between JD, Dwayne D, and Travis in that department.

        Reply
    2. Shelley K.

      Oh wow. Thank you for this. Forwarding it to family.

      Reply
      1. RWFA

        Oy, here’s the revolving persona of No Shame Shane/Shelly K-street amping the FUD in bad faith with another “forwarding this to my sister/family/generations as yet unborn”.

        Reply

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