Ford F-150 Lightining

Dearborn has electrified its most iconic utility vehicle. European-market sales beckon Ford is banking on some bold decisions to make much-needed headway on electrification.It’s the kind of boldness that resulted in the electrically powered Ford Mustang Mach-E of 2019, and that more recently gave rise to the zero-emissions reimagination of the world’s biggest-selling pick-up truck – arguably Ford’s greatest commercial asset of them all.The F-Series – the most popular and best-known version of which is the F-150 – has a history going back to the 1940s. More than 40 million have been made to date, almost all for American and Canadian buyers, but none has yet officially been offered for sale either in the UK or mainland Europe, nor has any been the subject of an Autocar road test.Until now. When it announced its intention to electrify the F-150, Ford made ears prick up the world over. The became known nine months before Tesla first showed its Cybertruck in 2019, its story building to the moment, in April 2022, when production started at Ford’s Rouge factory in Dearborn, Michigan. And it recently took a surprise turn when Ford of Europe announced that the car will be made available in Norway later this year, which invites us to wonder where else it might end up being sold.Range at a glanceIt remains to be seen how much of the Lightning’s American model range Ford will offer to European customers, or exactly where orders will open on price. In the US, the Lightning comes with two battery sizes, though all versions of it are twin-motor, four-wheel drive.The bottom-rung Pro trim uses the smaller battery, has 2.4kW of ‘mains outlet’ power and has a more functional equipment level. XLTs are still kitted out like working cars, but Lariat and Platinum models are much more luxurious.VersionPowerFord F-150 Lightning Standard Range452bhpFord F-150 Lightning Extended Range*581bhp*Version testedTRANSMISSION1-spd reduction gear