Ford Performance and RTR Created a Raptor-Like F-150 Lightning
Ford has long offered beefy off-road variants of the F-Series pickup, but the electric F-150 Lightning’s introduction raised questions about how robust a non-internal-combustion truck could be in the dirt. Ford Performance and RTR recently teamed up to find answers to those questions, and the result is the F-150 Lightning Switchgear, a high-performance concept truck with Raptor-like looks.
Ford said the truck features carbon bodywork and sports a widened track for better off-road performance. It also has a lift and upgraded suspension with Fox three-inch internal bypass shocks. The cropped bumpers give it better approach and departure angles, along with rock rails and skid plates for underbody protection. Nitto Ridge Grappler 37-inch tires wrap black 18-inch wheels.
This truck may or may not indicate Ford’s intention to build an off-road electric pickup. It joins other electric concepts the automaker has rolled out in recent years, including the Mustang Mach-E 1400, Mustang CobraJet 1400, the SuperVan 4.0, and the also-Lightning-powered F-100 Eluminator. Ford said it’s using the truck as a testing unit for electric truck technologies, so even if we don’t see this exact model on sale, there’s more than a good chance we’ll get some of its off-road goodies in a future Lightning model.
[Image: Ford]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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"...how robust a non-internal-combustion truck could be in the dirt"
My first thought was 'no different', but the added weight of an electric could be a big factor.
Wow, here we are. The fake lightning gist got more laughable.
Somehow I missed the Eluminator. (Pricing for Part No. M-9000-MACH-E has dropped from $3,900 to $3,500)
Ford has a contract with Multimatic to build the GT so I'm surprised that they don't use Multimatic shocks. Must be a contractual obligation. Ford and Fox shocks. GM and Multimatic shocks.