- Two battery pack on offer

- Could hit 0-100kmph in 4.4 seconds

Ford has taken the wraps off the all-new F-150 Lightning with much fanfare at a special event held at the American carmaker’s headquarter in Dearborn. The Lightning is quintessentially an F-Series pick-up with a surprisingly low price tag and what appears to be a capable hardware fitting for an American truck with over seven decades of legacy.

Right of the bat, there are two battery packs available with the Lightning – the standard-range and extended-range. Where the former is good for approx. 426bhp (318kW) and 370kilometres of range, the latter has an impressive output of 563bhp (420kW) and a range of 450kilometres. Both the version has a torque rated at 1051Nm. That makes Lightning the most powerful model in the F-150 range and it can do 0-100kmph in a rather quick 4.4 seconds making it the quickest in the family as well.

It doesn’t mention anywhere the size of the battery pack, but there are two motors on each axle making the Lightning a 4x4. There are multiple ways of charging the pick-up with the fastest one being a 150kW DC fast-charger getting the 15-80 per cent charge in 44 minutes. It also has three charging points on board so you can charge your heavy machines using the Lightning. Secondly, during a power outage, the F-150 Lightning will also power your house for up to three days.

Being an American pick-up, it’s all about towing and payload capacity and the Lightning is no different. It is capable of hauling 4500kilograms with a max carrying capacity of 900kilograms. And it’s got the largest ‘frunk’ (that’s the new term for front-trunk) ever in any EV seen before – 400litres. With the battery pack stowed between the axle, the low centre of gravity should make the Lightning the best handling F-150 as well.

Appearance-wise, the Lightning is like any other F-150 with a broad-chested front, five-foot truck bed and dual-cab with all the expected practicality. The light strip joining the vertically-stacked headlamps are new while the tail lamp has a similar setup which looks rather attractive on the Lightning. On the inside, there’s the all-digital driver’s display and a new massive 15.5-inch vertical display with Sync4 interface and provision for OTA updates. Ford’s new BlueCrusie is also part of the feature list that’s intelligent, adaptive cruise control.

Pricing for the new F-150 Lightning starts at 39,974 USD (before tax) for the commercial trim while the mid-series XLT model starts at 52,974 USD. It will be built at the historic Rouge Complex in Dearborn which is converted into Ford’s electric facility.