The F-150 Lightning is packed with cool tech and capability, but we’re learning that Ford has even bigger plans for its first electric pickup. Inside EVs found an exciting document on the Lightning Owners Forum that shows ford applied to patent a tank turn feature like the one we saw Rivian pull off a few years ago, where the truck spins around a center point using its electric motors. Rivian’s tank turn feature still hasn’t made it to market, so it’s possible that Ford beats them to the punch.
Tank turn allows the truck to spin while almost completely stationary.Ford
Ford applied for the patent in October 2020, but it’s just now making its way out. In the document, Ford gives an example of how it could work: “Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to perform a tank turn. An example vehicle includes a first wheel and a second wheel, the first wheel located on an end of a first axle, the second wheel located on an end of the second axle, the end of the first axle opposite to the end of the second axle, a first suspension coupled to the first wheel, a second suspension coupled to the second wheel, and a controller to drive the first axle in a first direction, drive the second axle in the second direction and decrease a first suspension load of the first suspension and a second suspension load of the second suspension.”
As Inside EVs points out, Rivian’s tank turn feature employs the R1 T’s quad-motor setup to drive each wheel individually. The F-150 Lightning doesn’t currently have a four-motor choice and instead offers two motors – one on each axle. It’s important to note that Rivian patented tank turn and showed that it could work, but there hasn’t yet been a production vehicle that offers the capability. Toyota filed a patent in 2019, but again it’s just paperwork at this point.
No automaker has brought tank turn to production yet.
To achieve the turn, Ford has a few options. The most obvious would be to offer a quad-motor upgrade in future model years. It’s unclear if such a feature is in the works or if Ford plans to provide beefier versions of the Lightning, such as a Raptor variant with upgraded motors. The automaker could also design gearing to reverse the wheels on one side while the others drive forward, or it could use braking to lock the wheels and tighten the turning radius.
