The hyped Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is ready for police duties in the U.S.
The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro Special Service Vehicle (SSV) is the first EV pickup purpose-built for the police force.
Based on the entry-level F-150 Lightning Pro, the F-150 Lightning Pro SSV is designed for “specialised departmental needs” outside of pursuit situations, including assisting at an accident or crime scene, and towing a boat or trailer.
The F-150 Lightning Pro SSV has a number of features that have been taken directly from the internal combustion-powered F-150 Police Responder.
These include police-grade heavy-duty cloth seats with smaller bolsters to allow officers to enter and exit the vehicle easier, built-in steel intrusion plates in the front seatbacks, an “upfit-friendly” reinforced centre console, vinyl rear seats and vinyl flooring, as well as available red/blue or amber/white roof-mounted LED warning lights.
The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro SSV shares its electric powertrains and batteries with the existing consumer range and they haven’t received any performance upgrades.
The standard-range battery version is powered by a dual-electric motor setup that produces 337kW of power and 1050Nm of torque, paired with a 98kWh battery pack. It also has a 3492kg (7700lb) towing capacity and a 1013kg (2235lb) payload.
The extended-range battery version on the other hand is also powered by a dual-electric motor setup but produces 432kW and 1050Nm, and is paired with a larger 131kWh battery pack. It also has a towing capacity of 4536kg (10,000lb).
Ford claims this extended-range battery version has a sub-four-second 0-60mp/h sprint time.
One thing Ford has yet to detail are claimed range figures, but it says that more information is coming later on in the year.
Features that carry over from the regular F-150 Lightning to the police version include the 400L frunk that’s lockable and offers 220-amp DC-DC power, as well as the 12-inch digital instrument cluster and the 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
If you haven’t been living under a rock you would know that the F-150 Lightning has proven to be quite popular.
With a total of 200,000 reservations already for the F-150 Lightning, Ford is aiming to ramp up its annual production rate to 150,000 in 2023.
In other words, this means that the Ford F-150 Lightning is sold out until 2023 at least.
Ford actually closed reservations for the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning back in December 2021 due to this unprecedented high demand. Orders haven’t reopened yet either.
The Blue Oval has now invested more than $US1 billion ($A1.42 billion) in Michigan for the F-150 Lightning alone, with 1700 jobs created among five Ford plants.
It’s unclear if the F-150 Lightning will be coming Down Under, but Ford Australia has previously said it’s bringing at least five electrified vehicles by 2024. It’s also bringing the petrol-powered F-150 to market in 2023.
Given the massive North American demand for the F-150 Lightning, don’t expect it to come here any time soon.
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