Ford F-150 Flash to be the electric Raptor of the pickup world

Ford filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office last week for the name Ford F-150 Flash. On its own it would be nothing unusual, automotive companies file for trademarks all the time while they develop new vehicle models. But there’s so much more behind this trademark, that points to a high-performance version of the F-150 Lightning.

We already know that Ford enlisted help from Red Bull Racing to develop a new, fast electric vehicle. Ford Performance division shared its plans for the EV sector recently as well, its 2,000-hp electric SuperVan is about to take on the Pikes Peak this weekend. The 1,800 hp Mustang Cobra Jet is a dragstrip bullet from the Blue Oval and clearly, what’s missing is a ridiculously fast electric F-150.

Ford F-150 Raptor has always been the most powerful and most ridiculous of the pickups in the ICE-powered lineup. When the F-150 Lightning came about, the AWD model’s 580 hp powertrain was more powerful than F-150 Raptor’s 450 hp EcoBoost V6. Ford had to shoehorn Shelby’s 700 hp V8 and create the Raptor R just to close the gap between it and the Lightning.

The result of that decision is pretty obvious - Ford made room for a far more powerful version of the F-150 Lightning. This race will only end with a seriously fast electric F-150, which thanks to the USPTO, we now know will be called F-150 Flash. Will it be like the Raptor, ready for anything 4x4? Unlikely, the Flash will focus on speed and handling and, at least for now, will only be a demo vehicle. It will join the SuperVan and Cobra Jet in promoting electric powertrains.

Involvement of Red Bull Racing in the creation of the F-150 Flash promises big numbers when it comes to power. With big electric power though, comes a big thirst for electrons, and the F-150 Flash could be a development vehicle for new battery technology. The batteries are changing much faster than we could have ever anticipated. Two years ago solid-state batteries were a distant dream, and now this technology is knocking on our front door.

Will we ever see a production version of the F-150 Flash? In some form - absolutely yes. Ford is not going to settle for the AWD Lightning to be the top-of-the-range for much longer. With the Cybertruck production on the horizon and Ford’s CEO views on the vehicle itself, a much faster Lightning is as good as guaranteed.

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