5 features of Ford’s F-150 Lightning

DETROIT — If anybody questioned the significance of the electrical Ford F-150 Lightning to Ford Motor, they should not after the automobile’s theatrical launching at the car manufacturer’s world head office today in Michigan.

Ford turned its 12-story house — referred to as the “Glass House” for its blocky, glass-clad contemporary style — into a 64,000-square-foot forecast screen for the automobile’s main unveiling Wednesday night. It was an excessive discussion that spoke with the significance of the automobile and Ford’s pickup franchise, which takes the lion’s share of the business’s revenues.

Ford Chairman Bill Ford called it a “defining moment” and a “historic day” for the business. Ford CEO Jim Farley stated it was a “moment of tremendous pride” and would evaluate whether mainstream Americans really desire electrical cars.

Ford did whatever it might to make the automobile interesting pickup consumers — from its cost to its performance and style. It likewise included some unexpected functions that would not be possible with a gas-powered automobile, such as a huge front trunk, or frunk, and the capability to power a home for days.

Here’s more on those functions in addition to other things to understand about the truck.

The pickup looks like the car manufacturer’s existing F-150 however consists of brand-new exterior and interior functions. It’s powered by 2 electrical motors and a battery pack rather of a conventional gas engine. It will be provided in 2 battery alternatives with targeted series of 230 miles or 300 miles, Ford stated.

The style and performance of the F-150 Lightning pickup is indicated to be a truck, “not a science experiment,” according to Linda Zhang, primary engineer of the automobile.

Taking a jab at Tesla’s Cybertruck style, Jasen Turnbull, marketing supervisor for the Lightning, put it a various method: “Our customers told us they want something modern and advanced, but did not want their truck to look like a doorstop or a spaceship,” he stated. “They wanted something distinct but not different.”

Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck has a unique and polarizing style that was motivated by the movies “Blade Runner” and “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

The F-150 Lightning is readily available with 11 outlet plugs, consisting of 4 in the frunk and one 240-volt in the pickup box for durable devices. Using the automobile’s battery, the truck likewise works as an electrical generator. Depending on the quantity of electrical energy being drawn, it might power a home for approximately 10 days, Ford stated.

Ford is partnering with solar business Sunrun to provide an at-home EV battery charger and an inverter that would immediately draw power from the truck when it’s plugged in — adequate to power a whole house or particular crucial items throughout a power failure. They’ll likewise provide solar setup for owners.

An existing hybrid electric-gas design of the 2021 F-150 likewise includes an electrical generator however not the level of power of the EV variation.

The F-150 Lightning is approximated at approximately 563 horse power and 775 pound feet of torque — about 130 horse power and 200 pound feet of torque more than the premier variation with an engine.

The Lightning likewise boasts a huge front trunk, or frunk.

The frunk, situated where the engine would normally be, is special, as the automobile’s grille is incorporated into the hood. It develops an open, flat location that’s much easier to fill and discharge than a bin-type frunk discovered on many EVs. It includes 14.1 cubic feet of protected storage for dry or damp products. For the latter, it likewise includes a drain at the bottom.

“I like to say it’s frunking awesome,” stated Nancy Reppenhagen, Ford manager of worldwide function procedure who led advancement of the frunk. For tailgating, she stated, it might be utilized as a cooler, table or represent a big flat-screen TELEVISION.

The frunk likewise includes 4 110-volt outlet plugs and 2 USB ports for charging. It is created to accumulate to 400 pounds.

The automobile’s cost, just like the conventional F-150, has a large bandwidth. Ford stated a work-oriented variation of the truck will begin at $39,974. More consumer-centric designs will begin at $52,974 and peak at around $90,000.

The “74” at the end of the cost has a surprise significance, a Ford representative informed CNBC. It’s a nod to the 74th anniversary of the Ford F-Series in 2022, which is the very first design year of the F-150 Lightning.

Ford stated the automobile will pay, nevertheless, executives decreased to discuss whether every design would generate income.

It is anticipated to be among the very first mainstream electrical pickups, if not the very first, when it gets here in dealership display rooms by mid-2022.

Ford is taking refundable $100 appointments for the F-150 Lightning on its site. It took more than 44,500 appointments in less than 48 hours after the truck’s main launching, Farley tweeted Friday early morning. That was up from more than 22,000 since Thursday early morning.

“The response has been great,” Farley stated throughout an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” 

The strong action is not special. Two days after revealing the Tesla Cybertruck in November 2019, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the business had actually taken 146,000 appointments for the steel trapezoid-shaped pickup.