New Ford Patent Reveals Hatchback Electric Pickup Truck Design
When Ford CEO Jim Farley said the brand’s next-generation electric pickup looks like a “Millennium Falcon with a back porch attached,” he may have really meant it about the porch.
Ford this week received a patent for a “pivotable cab back assembly for a vehicle and cab back assembly pivoting method” that adds some interesting new functionality to a pickup.
The description says it is meant for a unibody truck that may be electric and doesn’t have a separate cab and bed.
It turns the rear wall of the cab into a door that’s hinged at the top and half way down, allowing it to be opened in a variety of ways.
Read Also: FORD’S ‘MILLENNIUM FALCON’ ELECTRIC PICKUP LOOKS LIKE A TESLA CYBERTRUCK IN NEW PATENT
Just the bottom can be pivoted to the horizontal position to provide a pass-through into the cab and also double as a work bench. The patent depicts this as having a circular saw attached to it that stays connected for storage when it is closed up.
THE door can also be opened 90 degrees to create a roof over the bed that’s held up by supports, but it goes even farther up than that. Swinging the door a full 180 degrees and then folding the bottom half down 90 degrees creates a small covered space that’s tall enough for some people to stand over, but can also serve a different purpose.
FORBIDDEN FORD: RANGER PHEV DEBUTS DOWN UNDER, BUT WILL THE ‘THUNDER’ COME TO THE US?
Ford shows it supporting a large tent that fits over the bed, which could theoretically be cooled or heated using the truck’s battery-powered climate control. Homer Simpson had a similar idea for using a home refrigerator for air conditioning, but Ford’s seems a bit more sound.
The Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV are both unibody designs and feature a pass-through into the cabin, but it works different from Ford’s patented idea.
The Multi-Flex Midgate is comprised of a removable window and a lower section that folds into the cabin with the rear seatbacks. They can be used together or independently and the lower section is split 60/40.
Chevrolet hasn’t released any tents yet, but has shown the Silverado EV with a bed topper that might work, although it was depicted on the WT (work truck) trim that doesn’t have the Multi-Flex Midgate.
As for whether or not the new electric Ford will have the door from the patent, it’s going to be a little longer than expected before we find out.
Read Also: FORD’S MODULAR T3 ELECTRIC TRUCK REVEALED IN PATENT APPLICATION?
The new truck, codenamed T3, was originally scheduled to go on sale in 2025, but its launch has been pushed back to late 2027.
Read Also: FORD KILLS ELECTRIC ‘BULLET TRAIN’ SUV, FOCUSES ON NEW HYBRIDS AND PICKUPS
Until then, Ford electric truck fans will have to make do with the F-150 Lightning, which uses a good old-fashioned body-on-frame design with a separate cab and bed.
