Is Bathurst next? Electric Ford F-150 race car enters Pikes Peak hillclimb

Ford will return to the legendary Pikes Peak International Hillclimb for the second year in a row using a wild-looking electric vehicle in what could be a precursor to another Bathurst lap-record attempt.

With French Le Mans winner, and four-time outright winner of the famous hillclimb, Romain Dumas driving, an extensively modified F-150 Lightning ‘SuperTruck’ will tackle the 156-turn, 19.99km Pikes Peak course on Sunday 23 June 2024.

Dumas was behind the wheel of Ford's electric SuperVan 4.2 in 2023 – which used three electric motors and made 1044kW – finishing second in the event.

The Transit-based van was then used for promotional duties – including a tour of Australia where Dumas drove a more potent version to a new unofficial lap record for a closed-wheel vehicle around Mount Panorama, Bathurst.

The upgraded 1500kW quad-motor SuperVan 4.2’s 1:56.28 time broke the previous Bathurst record set by a V8-powered Mercedes-AMG GT3 sports car only days earlier – with Jenson Button’s 2011 lap in a Formula One car the only vehicle to have lapped the 6.213km circuit faster.

The time – an unofficial 1:48.8 – set by Button in a McLaren MP4-23 Formula One car would be the target if the electric SuperTruck was to make its way Down Under as part of the Bathurst 12 Hour sports car race in February 2025.

With the SuperVan 4.2 appearing to have been a research/test run for the SuperTruck, Ford has not confirmed if it will follow up this year’s Pikes Peak with a similar tour to Bathurst – but would not rule out any plans when asked by Drive.

The SuperTruck appears – on paper – to be a faster machine than the SuperVan 4.2, using the knowledge and experience gained from the electric van’s previous running.

Ford has worked with STARD (Stohl Advanced Research and Development) – the same outfit it teamed up with for the SuperVan 4.0 and 4.2 – in developing the vehicle.

For Pikes Peak, it will use three electric motors with Ford saying it will make more than 1044kW – the power SuperVan 4.2 ran up the Colorado mountain road in 2023 – in a more aerodynamic package than the SuperVan.

The SuperTruck has a purpose-built lightweight body with wild carbon-composite extensions – including; an aggressive front air-dam, large side skirts, chunky lower rear bumper diffuser and massive rear wing.

The body additions bring more downforce – enabling the vehicle to be pushed onto the road to produce faster cornering speeds – Ford says the SuperTruck can generate 2722kg of downforce when moving at 240km/h, compared to the SuperVan 4.2’s 2000kg at the same speed.

There are various elements – known as vanes – in the wings to help engineers adjust the aerodynamic set-up when required too.

In its tray area, SuperTruck also appears to have ‘turrets’ similar to those inside the SuperVan 4.2 – again indicating it’s an engineering development of the record-setting van.

There's also unique suspension and forged alloy wheels with carbon ceramic brakes – derived from Formula One – to help the SuperTruck stop and turn.

As well as the SuperTruck and SuperVans, Ford’s electric ‘demonstrator’ vehicles have also included the F-150 Lightning Switchgear, combining the electric powertrain of the F-150 Lightning with off-road suspension similar to the F-150 Raptor.

The Pikes Peak International Hillclimb (PPIHC) is revered among motorsport fans as a marquee event – like the Le Mans 24 Hours sports car race, Indy 500 or Monaco Grand Prix.

First held in 1916, it has attracted major car makers keen to show their vehicles in a scenic – yet challenging – setting, with only a single complete competitive run winding up to the 14,115-feet (4.302km) summit.

The event’s reputation was boosted in the 1980s when Audi and Peugeot faced off year after year, with the famous short film of Finnish rally driver Ari Vatanen produced by Peugeot in 1988 still widely shared on social media more than three decades later.