2023 Ford F-150 Lightning flexes higher power than Raptor

Ford's upcoming F-150 Lightning might not be locked in for Australia, but the Blue Oval is making sure its flagship electric vehicle can make waves as soon as it rolls off the production line.

With customer deliveries of the all-electric pick-up truck beginning shortly in its native United States market, Ford has finalised the outputs of its latest F-150, confirming the Lightning will make more power than first intended.

When equipped with the Standard Range battery pack, the F-150 Lightning can develop up to 337kW, an increase of 20kW from the figure first quoted, and just under 2kW more than the flagship F-150 Raptor – the latter powered by a 3.5-litre, twin-turbo V6 petrol engine.

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Stepping up to the Extended Range battery further enhances the F-150 Lightning's performance potential, although its 433kW on tap is still 62kW shy of the Chevrolet Silverado EV, set to launch in 2023, and the GM product also beats the Blue Oval on driving range – 644 kilometres plays 515 kilometres.

Across both battery packs, Ford claims the F-150 Lightning produces 1050Nm of torque, more than enough to handle its revised payload capacity of 1015 kilograms.

Ford is set to win the battle of being the first mainstream manufacturer to bring an electric pick-up to market, over half a year before Chevy intends to do the same, and well before Ram has finished teasing its electric 1500.

The combustion engine-powered F-150 is set to make a return to Australia next year, with Ford undertaking conversions to right-hand-drive locally, although the Lightning is off the cards for now, despite being on the marque's radar.