Eagle-eyed Ford fans spotted an interesting sight in Arizona: an electric F-150 Lightning completing towing tests. What’s more, the truck had manufacturer camouflage covering a redesigned bed and grille. It isn’t a fully redesigned F-150 EV — that vehicle was pushed back to 2027. I believe it’s a “range-extended” hybrid electric truck, poised to revolutionize the industry.

What is a range-extended hybrid?

A regular hybrid has both an internal combustion and electric powertrain that can propel the vehicle. Often, this means its electric drive unit(s) spin the transmission and driveshafts. A full EV just has electric drive units to spin its wheels. This means fewer moving parts, but when its battery is dead, you’re out of luck. A range-extended hybrid is an EV with an internal combustion generator to recharge the battery on the go.

A range-extended hybrid powertrain is sometimes also called a “series hybrid” or an “extended-range electric vehicle (EREV).”

So what are the benefits of this configuration? Like an EV, a range-extended hybrid uses electric drive units to spin its wheels. That means maximum torque at zero RPM. It can also mean fewer moving parts, such as a transmission or driveshafts.

A range-extended hybrid does have an internal combustion motor, but it can be smaller than the engine in a comparable ICE vehicle. It can also run at a fixed RPM and thus get much higher mpg. If you need to drive a range-extended hybrid up a steep hill or accelerate to pass, that extra oomph comes from the battery, not the gasoline engine.

Ram announced the first range-extended half-ton pickup truck. It’s targeting 663 horsepower, 615 lb-ft of torque, a 2,625-pound max payload, and a 14,000-pound max towing capacity. It plans to do all this with its 3.6-liter V6. So even while towing 14,000 pounds or rocketing to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds, it will be sipping fuel. Best of all, you’ll be able to plug it in every night and begin your day with 145 miles of electric-only range.

That said, Ram has yet to deliver its fully electric 1500. So it might be years before we see the “Ramcharger” extended-range truck from Mopar.

Is Ford building an extended-range F-150 Lightning?

Ford delivered its first F-150 Lightning EVs in April 2022. The automaker has long had an extended-range variant on its radar, even patenting a generator that fits in a toolbox in the bed. Ford is working on a second-generation electric full-size pickup, but this vehicle may not even be named the “Lightning.” So what was Ford testing in Arizona?

According to Ford Authority, the test vehicle was an F-150 Lightning. It had its grille covered in mesh and its hood covered in camouflage. Why? I suspect it’s to hide vents for the TurboBoost range extender under its hood.

Another dead giveaway was that Ford was doing towing tests in the desert. There’s a good chance Ford’s doing cooling torture tests because it needs to know how well its new ICE/EV powertrain can haul heavy loads on hot days. It does the same test with every new ICE F-150.

We’ll likely have to wait for the next round of Ford model announcements to figure out exactly what this truck is. But if it’s a powerful and efficient range-extended electric half-ton, it could revolutionize the pickup truck world just like diesels did 30 years ago.