Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck's race-ready version ready to smite records

MANILA: Ford Performance has officially revealed its new F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, which the brand teased a few weeks ago. The latter is the Blue Oval’s latest electric vehicle (EV) demonstrator, and it is looking to smash records at the aforementioned hill climb event. 

To provide further context, the last Ford EV to conquer Pikes Peak in 2023 is the SuperVan 4.2 - a fully-electric hill climb racer based on the Michigan-based car maker’s Transit van. To note, the older EV racer set a Pikes Peak record of eight minutes and 47.682 seconds back in 2023.  

Now in 2024, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck will challenge the famous uphill course and, hopefully, set a faster record-breaking time. 

To effectively triumph over the well-known hill climb track in Colorado, the American car company provided the SuperTruck with plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Thanks to very aggressive aero bits, its body, which was produced by Ford Design together with STARD Advanced Research and Development, is now capable of producing about 2,700 kilograms of downforce at a speed of 241 kilometers per hour.

Particularly eye-catching on the hill climb EV is its large multi-element rear wing. The latter is coupled with a complex-looking front wing, huge front ducts, a set of sizable louvers, side and rear diffusers, etc. 

Carbon ceramic brakes provide stopping power, while a set of Pirelli P-Zero tires on magnesium forged wheels ensures optimum grip on the Ford hill climb EV.

The race vehicle's piece-de-resistance, however, is its trio of STARD UHP 6-phase motors. Together with the company’s Ultra-High Performance Li-Polymer NMC cells, Ford says the SuperTruck’s EV system can generate more than 1,400 horsepower, which is about the same as the older SuperVan 4.2. 

The F-150 Lighting SuperTruck will be piloted at the 19.7-kilometer-long course by hill climb veteran Romain Dumas, the same racer who successfully set record times with the SuperVan 4.2. In a statement, Dumas disclosed his confidence in the newer hill-climb EV has already exceeded his expectations. 

“In testing, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck has surpassed my expectations, so we are hoping for some good weather to try and do something very special,” Dumas said. 

Ford, though, didn’t build the SuperTruck just to beat Pikes Peak. In the words of Global Director of Ford Performance Mark Rushbrook, all the effort poured into the F-150 Lighting hill climb racer counts towards improving EVs in general. 

“Our pursuit to the top of the mountain is charged by the commitment to make all our electric vehicles more capable, more advanced, and more exciting,” Rushbook said. 

Of note, the upcoming Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is scheduled for June 23, 2024. The event will be live-streamed on Mobil 1's YouTube channel, the race's official oil partner. 

Photos from Ford Performance

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