Lordstown Motors’ Endurance won’t be available until summer, but the startup original equipment manufacturer that took over General Motors’ (GM) historic Ohio plant provided a few glimpses of the battery-electric pickup truck at work in a teaser video.
A few highlights included the silver truck trudging through a dirt road in the woods, made easier by the intelligent traction provided by the four independent hub motors, and its alternative use as a mobile generator, able to power worksite tools via 120-volt, 30-amp outlets near the tailgate.
The Endurance is expected to have a range in excess of 250 miles, with the four in-hub motors generating 600 HP with a 7,500-lb. towing capacity. Torque, battery and payload capacity details have not yet been provided. The price is expected to be $52,500 and the company reported more than 20,000 pre-ordered trucks.
Along with providing fleets a powerful, zero-emission vehicle for whatever the job demands, this truck has the secondary burden of kickstarting the Mahoning Valley, a Rust Belt region with a record of working hard and having hardly anything to show for it. Vice President Mike Pence introduced the Endurance at the plant in late June.
Along with a $2.3 billion battery factory jointly run by GM and LG Chem set to open up across the street, Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns stated the manufacturing surge will create the “Voltage Valley.”
In the video filmed on verdant Ohio farmland and at dusty construction sites, the narrator provided an upbeat message that is applicable to the company, the region, and the nation: “Endurance is what got us here; there’s nowhere where it can’t take us.”
Rivian R1T
Rivian is at the opposite end of the spectrum, despite also making a battery electric pickup, the R1T, with hub motors. The California automaker, founded in 2009, also has its sights set on being first to market. It could hit roads as soon as the end of 2020. It has been helped along by Ford, which invested $500 million into the company.
The price starts north of $70,000, but the performance shows why: 754 HP, 0-60 mph in 3 seconds, a payload capacity of 1,760 lbs and towing of 11,000 lbs. Rivian said the R1T will have a top range of 400 miles, with three battery models expected: 105, 135 and 180-kWh.
It’s already hit the Arizona desert, and snippets of it in action will leave you thirsty for more.
