Racing Rivals Penske and Roush Are Teaming Up on Electric Ford F-650 Work Truck

With a payload capacity of 8,500 pounds and a range of 100 miles, the truck is aimed at short-distance fleet operations.

bySteve Cole Smith|
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Though they're competitors on the race track, motorsports legends Roger Penske and Jack Roush have teamed up to build electric Ford F-650 delivery trucks, and have just shipped the first test vehicle to Penske Truck Leasing in California. It will be joined by one more to demonstrate what they can do for potential West Coast customers.

“Customers are waiting. They’re gonna be ecstatic,” said Paul Rosa, senior vice president of Penske Truck Leasing, to the Detroit Free Press. “The hard part will be getting them out of the truck when their test is done.”

The lithium-ion battery is situated between the frame rails., Roush

Penske and Roush both field teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. The drivers of the Penske Ford Mustangs are Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. Logano and Keselowski are past champions in the series. Roush Fenway Racing’s Mustang Cup drivers are Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher.

Penske also fields race cars in the IndyCar series, which he owns, along with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The new truck is called the Roush F-650 EV. Roush Performance has long performed engineering, testing and manufacturing duties for Ford, as well as for multiple outside customers, including GM and Dodge. Roush also builds a line of performance parts for Mustangs, F-150s and other OEM products.

The trucks, built to Penske specifications, have a 100-mile range between charges, a 65-mile-per-hour top speed and an 8,500-pound payload capacity. A 138-kilowatt lithium-ion battery is situated between the frame rails that will take eight to nine hours to recharge with a 240-volt outlet.

Roush CleanTech, a division of the company, has built 37,000 propane- and natural gas-powered trucks in the past decade. “We’re really good at putting technologies together and making them work,” Todd Mouw, president of Roush CleanTech, told the Free Press. “These vehicles will show customers it’s easy to make the transition from diesel to electric.” Production could begin next year.

Jack Roush, Roush Performance

According to CleanTech, the AC permanent magnet motor will have a continuous-rated power of 150 kilowatts (200 horsepower), with a peak-rated power of 250 kilowatts (335 horsepower). The company launched its new electric model at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California.

Penske Truck Leasing has already placed an electric box truck from the Freightliner Innovation Fleet into service with California's Temco Logistics, a company that delivers and installs appliances and home goods.

The regular F-650 is part of Ford's medium-duty lineup, and it's available from the factory with gas or diesel power. Sold as a cab with a frame that can take a box, flatbed and more depending on the customer’s demands, the F-650 gas model starts at $59,810, and the diesel starts at $69,055.

Pricing for Roush CleanTech and Penske's F-650 is yet to be announced.

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