If you thought the Ford F-150 Lightning was boring, meet the Ford F-150 Lightning Switchgear. It’s intended to change your mind.
Obviously based on a production F-150 Lightning, the team at Ford Performance gave this battery-electric pickup truck a serious once-over. This demonstrator concept sports a custom suspension, two sets of wheels and tires, and custom carbon bodywork.
For off-road use, Ford opts for a set of 37-inch tall Nitto Ridge Grappler 37x12.5R18s tires wrapping a set of 18-inch alloys. As you’d expect from an off-road toy, there’s another one of these tires mounted in the bed as a backup.
Ford says there’s also a street-focused set of wheels and tires that features Nitto NT420V 305/55R20 rubber that wraps a set of 20-inch RTR wheels.
To accommodate those big tires, Ford revised the F-150 Lightning’s bodywork and suspension. This Switchgear features carbon composite front fenders, bedsides, and rear bumper cover. This revised bodywork is also more aggressive than you’d find on a standard-production F-150 Lightning.
Supporting all of this is a set of custom control arms in the front and rear with coil-over shocks taking care of the bumps. In off-road trim, Ford says this suspension gives the Switchgear 11 inches of suspension travel in the front and 13 inches of suspension travel at the back. Of course, helping control the big bumps is the 3.0-inch internal bypass Fox shock absorbers.
As for the name, and the aforementioned street tires, Ford says this F-150 Lightning Switchgear can do double duty, performing well on and off-road, with just some suspension adjustments and a different set of tires. Judging by the hand brake lever in the interior, there’s a likely chance this EV will do some drifting in the near future.
If you’re heading to the 2024 King of the Hammers race in Johnson Valley, California, you’re in luck. This Ford F-150 Lightning Switchgear is set to make its public debut at the race. Ford hasn’t mentioned if it will participate in the race or not, but you can see above that this truck has no problem catching air.
