Lordstown Endurance November 2020
Price $52,500 (before applicable tax credits) Powertrain Layout 4 in-wheel motors;
600 hp/4,400 lb-ft* comb; 90-kW-hr* battery pack Configuration 4-door/5
pass/6. 5 -f t b e d L x W x H; Wheelbase 234.0 x 80.0 x 73.9 in; 143.0 in
Performance 0–60: 5.0 sec*, 200-mile EPA range* Towing/Payload Capacity
6,000/2,200 lb Unique Selling Propositions Claimed fewest moving parts of any
motor vehicle, 3.6-kW 120-volt job-site power *estimatedWE QUESTION THE WISDOM OF THAT BIG, CONVENTIONAL
HOOD ON A TRUCK WITH WHEEL MOTORS. WHY NOT OPT
FOR A MUCH MORE CAB-FORWARD/LARGER-BED DESIGN?R
emember the Workhorse W-15
extended-range hybrid-electric
pickup we reported would go into
production in 2018? Never happened.
Instead, GM decided to close its Lordstown,
Ohio, plant—but was under pressure to
reduce job losses by finding a buyer that
would continue to build vehicles. Work-
horse CEO Steve Burns seized the oppor-
tunity to found Lordstown Motors Corp.,
acquiring the 6.2 million-square-foot plant
at a substantial discount (along with a $40
million loan from GM) with a promise to
build electric trucks.
As part of the deal, Burns gave Work-
horse a 10 percent stake in Lordstown in
exchange for licensing rights to the W-15,
as well as the 6,000 preorders Workhorse
had sold. Lordstown also hopes to provide
overflow manufacturing capacity for
Workhorse, which has shifted its focus to
last-mile electric delivery vans.
Now Lordstown Motors’ website
describes a substantially different fully
electric work truck called the Endurance,
which scraps the BMW range extenderand two inboard motors for four in-wheel
motors that together pack 600-hp. There’s
no official word about torque, nor any
mention of who’s supplying the motors,
but Elaphe produces a 110-kW/1,500-Nm
(148-hp/1,106-lb-f t) unit that would work.
Remember that in-wheel motors don’t
benefit from the torque multiplication of
a transmission or final drive gear, so this
lofty torque spec equates to a combined
inboard motor output of about 400–500
lb-ft with typical gearing.
Lordstown claims a battery range of
about 200 miles, which suggests
a pack size of about 80 to 90
kW-hr, but no official specs have
been provided. The truck can
also allegedly climb a 30 percent
grade when fully loaded, though
the company has yet to disclose
its max payload. (The W-15
was rated to carry 2,200
pounds.) Another work truck
bonus is an onboard inverter that
can provide 30 amps of 120-volt power
for operating tools and the like.But we question the wisdom of that big,
conventional hood on a truck with wheel
motors (which, if they’re Elaphes, even
incorporate the power electronics). There
appears to be ample room under the
conventional bed floor for batteries, and
a frunk seems less useful than added bed
space, so why not opt for a much more
cab-forward/larger-bed design?
Burns’ aggressive timing aim is to have
prototypes running by about the time
you read this, with production following in
November. Color us skeptical.Nothing is hidden: The rivets,
fasteners, and door and
rear window hinges are all
proudly displayed.Peek inside those shallow-dish
wheels to see the electric motors
with integral brakes, which will
propel and stop the Endurance.62 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020