Lordy! Endurance EV ute gets hammered

The US electric vehicle start-up Lordstown Motors has demonstrated the tough testing it’s putting its new Endurance ute through as it closes in on the dual cab’s 2021 production date.

The Endurance’s chassis was shown in a video released by the GM-backed Ohio-based company undergoing some extreme testing.

It’s the latest in a series of videos from EV start-ups showing off their naked skateboard underpinnings, as we reported here.

But the Endurance does vary from other EVs including the plethora of utes headed for production because it runs four in-wheel hub motors.

The usual practice for EVs is to have their one, two or even three motors mounted on the front and/or rear axle.

In the video Lordstown CEO Steve Burns explains what he’s about to go out and drive is an Alpha test rig. Early in 2021 Beta builds will follow, then Lordstown will be into pre-production and production utes.

He describes the Endurance’s skateboard as “probably the most robust ever conceived or built”.

The Endurance Alpha is then taken out and shown smashing over concrete ripple stripes, along a wet and muddy trail, negotiating snow, crossing a stream and even getting some air.

“In this case we are testing without a body so we can see things that might be hidden from us,” explains Burns.

He points out the low-mounted battery pack that assists handling and then eulogises the hub motors.

“The beauty of these hubs are you are just slapping these wheels on the corners and it gives you, again, precise control, traction and the handling – to our knowledge – a pick-up truck has never been able to achieve.

“What goes into the design and manufacture of a chassis like this so it can survive five star crash ratings is a lot of engineering, both in design engineering and in the production engineering to make it in quantity.”

Combined Endurance peak power is claimed to be 447kW and continuous torque availability is 2711Nm stretching to a mammoth peak of 5965Nm. Towing capacity is as much as 3400kg.

Range is claimed to be 400km-plus, top speed is limited to 128km/h and 0-100km/h acceleration should be achieved in around six seconds.

Pricing starts at US$52,500 (about $70,000) and the aim is to sell the Endurance to commercial and fleet operators rather than private customers.