It might still be a bit early for Ford to give us power and torque figures for the upcoming F-150 electric pickup. But that doesn't mean that it's too early for a good old fashioned truck stunt. Like towing a train.
The stunt might be a response to the Twitter claims made last year by Tesla boss Elon Musk, who said the upcoming Tesla pickup would be able to tow 136,000 kg. Which is 10 times more than a current HD truck can tow. And since talk is cheap when it comes to pickups, Ford's gone a big step further. By towing more than 567,000 kg. That's 1.25 million pounds.
How much train is that? 10 double-decker rail cars loaded with 42 model-year 2019 F-150 trucks. Why 42? Because that's how many years the F-Series has been the best-selling truck in America.
Ted Cannis, global director of electrification for Ford, said, "Trust me when I say we understand trucks. We know truck owners … tens of millions of them. We love trucks. And, we beat up and test trucks in the most gruelling ways, so you don’t have to." The truck owners we know love cool feats of towing, too. So why not combine the two.
Of course, there's a video – one that has a load of classic F-150 truck models and their owners talking about their trucks. Wait to the end for the tow.
Ford has confirmed that a hybrid version of the F-150 will come to market next year, and that an electric truck will follow. They aren't saying when the fully electric truck will arrive, but it's looking pretty ready even now. Of course, they want to remind you not to try this one with your own F-150.