MOTORSPORT: F-150 Lightning set for Pikes Peak

The secret is out: Ford will return to the infamous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this weekend with its latest all-electric track weapon, the wild F-150 Lightning SuperTruck.

Piloting the F-150 Lightning racer at the 102nd annual Pikes Peak event will be outright record holder Romain Dumas, who last year was behind the wheel of Ford’s SuperVan 4.2 but set the record in 2018 in the Volkswagen ID. R Pikes Peak special.

Dumas and the Ford SuperVan 4.2 recently concluded a tour of Australia, where the battery-electric race van claimed the unofficial tin-top lap record at Bathurst’s Mount Panorama circuit.

“After a successful 2023 climb, I’m thrilled to be behind the wheel again with this team and to help push the limits of what an electric vehicle can achieve on the turns of this legendary course,” said Dumas.

“In testing, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck has surpassed my expectations, so we are hoping for some good weather to try and do something very special.”

The racing SuperTruck is based on the battery-electric F-150 Lightning that so far remains unavailable via Ford Australia, which last year released the latest F-150 pick-up exclusively in petrol V6 form.

The race-prepped F-150 Lightning features three STARD UHP six-phase electric motors powered by ultra-high-performance Li-Polymer NMC battery cells, generating over 1400hp (1045kW).

Aerodynamically, the highly modified racer produces over 2700kg of downforce at 240km/h, but it’s unclear how much that will help the super-ute over the 20km, 156-corner Pikes Peak course.

Aside from the wild aerodynamics and high-output motors, the one-off Ford pick-up has carbon-ceramic brakes, Pirelli P Zero tyres and bespoke inboard suspension.

“To make the best vehicles for our customers, our research takes us racing in the harshest and most challenging conditions – the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck is the latest example of that,” said Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook.

“Our pursuit to the top of the mountain is charged by the commitment to make all our electric vehicles more capable, more advanced and more exciting.”

Contested over a 1440-metre elevation increase to a total height of 4300m, the Pikes Peak hillclimb is regularly taken on by car-makers looking to prove and publicise their technology.

The development of Ford’s breed is evidence of this; in 1916, a Model T completed the course in 28 minutes and three seconds. Last year, the Ford SuperVan 4.2 set a time of 8:47.682.

Electric-powered machines have a history of success at the event since the first example debuted in 1981, when a converted 1977 Fiat 128 set a benchmark time of 32:07.42.

In 2013, the legendary ‘Monster’ Tajima steered the first EV to break the magical 10-minute mark, while two years later Rhys Millen won outright in a time of 9:07.222.

Then in 2016, Millen broke the nine-minute barrier in a Pikes Peak special that featured seven electric motors, before 2018 saw EVs stamp their dominance on the event when Dumas set an outright record time of 7:57.148 aboard the Volkswagen ID. R.

For vehicles with production roots, Blake Fuller raced a 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance to a best time of 11:02.802 in 2020, while last year Gardner Nichols completed the course aboard a 2022 Rivian R1T in a time of 11:23.983.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb concludes next weekend after a week of practice and qualifying from today.

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