Ford says the F-150 Lightning is more powerful than it originally announced

Ford simply began transport its electrical F-150 Lightning on April twenty sixth, nevertheless it already has a shock for soon-to-be homeowners: all variations of the truck could have greater horsepower than it initially introduced, and the usual vary mannequin could have an excellent greater payload capability, based on a press launch from the corporate. Whereas that’s excellent news for anybody who’s already received a pre-order, it may find yourself rising the FOMO for individuals who don’t, and might’t get one — Ford stopped taking pre-orders for the truck in December, and is at the moment determining find out how to attain its purpose of manufacturing 150,000 Lightnings per yr.

When Ford introduced its electrical pickup in Could 2021, the corporate estimated the usual battery pack model would make 426 horsepower, and the prolonged vary model would make 563. Now that it’s truly constructing them, these numbers have gotten a bump: the usual vary will produce 452 horsepower, and the prolonged will get a whopping 580 horsepower. For context, the V8 turbocharged diesels that Ford places in its Tremendous Obligation vans (suppose F-250 to F-450) high out round 475 horsepower — although these engines do make 1,050 pound-feet of torque, which is greater than the 775 pound-feet the Lightning can do.

The payload capability for the truck, or how a lot weight it will probably maintain within the mattress, cab, and frunk, has additionally gotten a bump. Ford’s announcement says that “correctly geared up F-150 Lightning pickups can now haul an additional 235 kilos for a complete 2,235 kilos of most accessible hauling functionality.” There’s a little bit of thriller right here although — when Ford introduced the Lightning, it mentioned that solely the standard-range mannequin may haul 2,000 kilos. The prolonged vary’s additional batteries meant it was restricted to a most of 1,800 kilos. Ford didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark about whether or not that mannequin can be getting a payload capability bump.

It’s additionally price noting that these figures are prone to be best-case numbers. Ford’s press launch notes they’re calculated from the “peak efficiency of the electrical motor(s) at peak battery energy,” so your truck might make much less horsepower 250 miles into a visit than it can recent off the charger. Ford additionally says that “horsepower, torque, payload, towing and focused EPA-estimated vary are impartial attributes and might not be achieved concurrently,” which once more is sensible — vans simply received’t be as zippy after they’re hauling a 7,700-pound trailer (the utmost the standard-range mannequin is rated for).

Regardless of these caveats, it’s nonetheless fairly neat that the F-150 Lightning is much more highly effective than Ford initially predicted. That’s form of been the story with this truck; in March, Ford introduced that the extended-range Lightning may go about 30 miles additional on a cost than it predicted. Whereas it could be fairly some time earlier than you may stroll right into a dealership and purchase one (or pay a scalper for one), the F-150 Lightning continues to be fairly an attention-grabbing EV.