The Ford F-150 Lightning Returns as an Electric Pickup Truck

Expect solid performance from this EV, even if it's not quite the sport truck of its namesake.

May 11, 2021

The forthcoming electric Ford F-150 pickup truck officially has a name: Lightning. Ford's announcement confirms recent rumors and tantalizing patent filings suggesting the Blue Oval planned to resurrect the dormant F-150 sport-truck trim for its battery-electric full-size pickup.

Historically, Ford applied the Lightning badge to the most on-road-oriented F-150 trim. The original F-150 Lightning debuted for the 1993 model year. With a 240-hp 5.8-liter V-8 under its hood, the 1993 F-150 Lightning required just 7.2 seconds to hit the mile-a-minute mark in our testing. Later F-150 Lightnings packed up to 380 hp courtesy of a supercharged V-8.

While prior F-150 Lightnings were masters of on-road performance, the new electric F-150 Lightning will likely trade some of its predecessors' pavement pulverizing nature to emerge as a jack of all trades—just like any regular F-150. As such, we expect the forthcoming Ford EV to perform equally as well both on- and off-tarmac.

That said, the new truck's straight-line speed is sure to impress, with Jim Farley, Ford's chief executive officer, stating in a press release that the new Lighting "is even quicker than the original." Admittedly, a 7.2-second trot to 60 mph isn't exactly a high bar to clear, even if it is plenty quick for typical day-to-day driving.

Look for more information on the upcoming 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning to arrive closer to the start of the electric truck's production in spring 2022.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter