Image via Ford
While among some of the most celebrated motorsports events held in North America, the annual Pikes Peak Hillclimb or Race to the Clouds presents quite the challenge. That might be why so many in the racing world can’t resist taking on the treacherous conditions, including Ford Performance which will be bringing an F-150 Lightning-based “SuperTruck” to this year’s event.
Watch a racecar vault over the safety fence at a track.
The stunt surely is to help show off what the all-electric truck can do, but Ford says it’s also a research and development excursion. Motorsports have long been the test bed for many automotive innovations, so that sounds believable enough.
Predictably, Ford says the SuperTruck will not only see a big power bump versus the regular Lightning, it will sport enhanced aerodynamics. After all, the air gets pretty thin towards the end of the 12.5-mile mountain course.
The Ford Lighting-based SuperTruck will take on the daunting 156 turns on the course and hopefully reach the 14,115 foot finish line in one piece. Many racers have miscalculated and ended up sending their car, truck, or motorcycle over the edge and down the side of the mountain.
Ford says the SuperTruck will be competitor No. 150 for the qualifying runs, which are held June 18-20. The Hill Climb competition then takes place on June 23.
For now, we don’t get to see this Ford Lightning SuperTruck in its entirety. Instead, Ford has provided teasers which are obviously designed to build anticipation for the full reveal.
If you have a good memory, you’ll realize Ford ran an all-electric test vehicle for last year’s Pikes Peak, the Electric SuperVan 4.2. That build featured a Ford Pro E-Transit Custom Van with 1,400-horsepower on tap. Ultimately, it set a class record in the process of winning. We’ll see if the SuperTruck has similar success this year.
Images via Ford
