If you thought the Cybertruck unveil event was strange, well I’ve got news for you. There’s a new kid in town, and their name is Lordstown Motors. Today they showed off a working prototype of their Endurance electric pickup truck, and it’s a conversation starter, to say the least.
The exciting venture was born of Workhorse, a company that is making a PHEV pickup truck. Steve Burns, Lordstown’s founder, stuck a deal with GM to convert one of their old factories into a plant for the Endurance, using tech from the Workhorse development.
The resulting fully-electric truck has a unique design, which incorporates four motors into each of the wheels themselves. They say that the truck will be coming in 2021, and will have a range of over 250 miles, towing capacity of 7,500 lbs, and 600 peak horsepower, costing $52,000.
The truck’s specs are nice, and it’s signature wheel hubs look really cool. It’s also apparently received 14,000 pre-orders. Fantastic news, as the world desperately needs more competition in the EV, specifically truck, sector.
Here’s where things get strange. The truck was driven on stage with VP Mike Pence riding shotgun.
The Vice-President exited the truck, which was in front of a giant American flag, and then proceeded to give what some might consider a campaign speech, standing at a podium sporting his seal. Not to be political in any way, but the move is a bit strange.
I would go so far as to say that it’s important to appeal to all demographics while trying to get them to adopt electrification. This might help to win over a group of people who otherwise wouldn’t give an electric pickup a second thought. As Tesla and Rivian deal with California-based political flak, there’s something to be said for a more… blatantly patriotic truck company.
Either way, the truck is interesting, especially its wheel motors. We will see if the political situation helps or hurts them.
