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Hot on the heels of the impressive performance of its Super Van 4.2’s record 6:48.393-minute rip around the Nürburgring’s famed Nordschleife course, Ford returned with another purpose-built EV, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck with F1 speedster Romain Dumas behind the wheel, to “see what this thing can really do.” The answer was the fifth fastest lap by a demonstrator.
Every minute we spend on that track is an investment in making your next Ford better… — Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance
“The Nürburgring is brutal. It’s called the ‘Green Hell’ for a reason. With 13 miles and 73 corners, it’ll break anything that’s not bulletproof,” Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance, said. “When our systems survive this punishment, they’re ready for whatever you throw at them.”
Ford Performance headed to the Nürburgring F-150 Lightning SuperTruck to see just how quickly the electric demonstrator could lap the Green Hell. It turned in the seventh fastest lap ever at 6:43.482 minutes, which is also the fifth fastest for a prototype. (Photo Credit: Ford Performance)
While a part of the intent of these laps is to garner attention, pushing these engineering vehicles to their limits is the ultimate engineering exercise. What is learned during these laps trickles down to production vehicles, whether what they learn is about aerodynamics or electrification.
Tech Transfer
“Right now we’re prepping our next-generation affordable electric platform, and programs like this give us total confidence in what we’re building,” Rushbrook said. “When you know your tech can handle six minutes of Nürburgring abuse, you know it’ll handle anything real life dishes out.”
In the end, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck hauled to a 6:43.482-minute lap, which is neck and neck with the Porsche GT2RS Manthey Racing Edition. That lap is also quicker than its electric cousin, the SuperVan 4.2, as well as the Mustang GTD, which galloped to a 6:52.072-minute lap.
Ford’s engineering team takes what it learns during these all-out test sessions and transfers that technology to its production vehicles. “Those aerodynamics lessons we learned running through corners? They make your F-150 Lightning more efficient on the highway,” Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance, explained. “The systems that kept our batteries happy during six minutes of hell? They'll keep working when you're stuck in summer traffic.”
“That time represents something bigger than speed. It’s proof that when we go electric, we’re bringing everything Ford stands for with us—the toughness, the capability, the reliability you’ve counted on for decades,” Rushbrook added. “Every minute we spend on that track is an investment in making your next Ford better. This is what happens when Ford’s spirit meets tomorrow’s tech.”
While electric vehicles have become, well, polarizing, it’s clear that Ford is still committed to developing them and going fast while doing it, as the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck demonstrator proved on the Green Hell.
