Ford F-150: An electric model shows strength by pulling 450 tons
A symbolic US pickup, the Ford F-150 was put to the test in its fully electric version (in prototype form) by pulling 10 rail cars with another 42 pickups inside!
Think of one of the most iconic and best-selling US pickups: the Ford F-150. Soon this beast typical of the US scenarios will also have a completely electric version ready to satisfy the ” ecological ” needs of modern users of the overseas nation not without some contradiction due to the decision to give a ” green ” image to a decidedly big car.
If a hybrid version debuts in 2020, then there will also be a Ford F-150 without an internal-combustion engine. A real challenge (or a real affront) for the purists of this kind of car but it is also a way for the brand to show that it wants to keep up with the times.
To try to demonstrate the capabilities of the electric pickup, a Ford F-150 prototype was put to the test by moving ten railroad cars (two-story) for over 300 meters. To make the challenge more difficult, the wagons had been loaded with 42 Ford F-150 with internal-combustion engines for a total weight of over 453 tons. Despite being helped by the wheels of the wagons, the challenge was still complex and not without unknowns.
Clearly, this is pure marketing to show that even an electric pickup has no problems with very high loads (also considering the torque curve available for this type of engine). In the past, other companies have been pulling airliners (Tesla Model X with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner) and other ” heavyweights ” to demonstrate the potential of their vehicles, so Ford is not the first and will not be the last.
It should also be remembered that Ford intends to launch, in addition to the Ford F-150, also an electric Mustang (another affront to purists of US muscle cars) and to spend over 10 billion dollars by 2022 for other models completely electric.
A challenge to the competition represented by the VW group (with which Ford collaborates), BMW but also Tesla. It will be a very onerous commitment for the US brand but which should allow Ford to continue to be competitive on the market.
