The Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck electric vehicle demonstrator overcame a hurdle and found success on June 23 at the 102nd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, notching a time of 8:53.553 — the fastest among 61 competitors.
The result came just days after the truck set a new qualifying record for the open class with a time of 3:32.831, more than seven seconds faster than the previous record of 3:39.939 set by the Ford Performance SuperVan 4.2 in 2023.
“The progression of Ford electric vehicles taking on and completing the toughest challenges is a major testament to the hard work and dedication our teams have put into the program,” says Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “We learned a great deal from SuperVan 4.2 in last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill climb and were able to apply that knowledge to this year’s run. It’s onward and upward from here.”
Driver Romain Dumas overcame a technical issue during the climb, coming to a complete stop on the course. That stop added about 26 seconds compared to his initial qualifying time. Quick thinking from Dumas helped to minimize the issue, as the Frenchman completely reset the 1,600-horsepower F-150 Lightning SuperTruck and continued his climb.
“I’m honored to achieve this victory with Ford Performance at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb,” Dumas says. “Everything about this event is a challenge because it is unlike any other form of racing, you only have one shot. We faced a challenge early on but that only gave me more determination to make up the lost time in the rest of the run.”
The construction of the 1,600-horsepower Ford Performance F-150 Lightning SuperTruck was a collaboration with STARD (Stohl Advanced Research and Development). SuperTruck also was equipped with top-of-the-line Sparco racing harnesses and safety equipment and Pirelli P-Zero tires, ensuring its stability on the challenging mountain roads.
“To achieve this amazing feat was no small effort,” says Sriram Pakkam, Formula 1 and high-performance EV manager at Ford Performance Motorsports. “This was a true team effort across the board from our super-talented aerodynamicists to our powertrain specialists. We also had to work as a team to sweat the details such as keeping the weight down while maximizing the downforce and I think the team did a fantastic job.”
