Ford’s Prototype Pickup Beats SuperVan and Chases Manthey GT2 R

Ford just turned the Green Hell into a proving ground for electric pickup trucks. The F-150 SuperTruck, a purpose-built prototype, ripped around the Nürburgring in 6 minutes 43.482 seconds. That is as quick as a Porsche 911 GT2 RS prepared by Manthey and it is not something you will find at a dealership. This is a rolling laboratory meant to show how far Ford’s electric vehicle development has come.

The lap itself is outrageous. Over the 12.9-mile course, Romain Dumas stopped the clock at 6:43.482, only 0.182 seconds off the Manthey GT2 RS benchmark and a little under 5 seconds quicker than Ford’s own SuperVan 4.2. Dumas did it the very same day he set that van record, which fits his résumé: this is the same driver who laid down a 6:05.336 in the Volkswagen ID.R back in 2019.

Where does it land in the record books? The run places among the 5th-fastest prototypes ever to lap the Nürburgring and makes the SuperTruck the 7th-fastest vehicle of any kind to circulate the circuit. Not bad for something with a bed and a Ford badge.

Because it is a prototype, the SuperTruck changes form to suit the challenge. In some trims it uses four motors with up to 2,200 horsepower. In others, like the Pikes Peak specification, it runs three motors for about 1,600 horsepower. Ford has not said which setup powered this lap, but the message is clear: power, aero, and battery control are working together at the limit.

There is drama off track, too. After Chevrolet’s trio of Corvette laps and a quick time that topped the Mustang GTD’s 6:52.072, Ford’s chief executive officer Jim Farley called it “game on” and promised a return to the ’Ring. Ford Performance trucks were soon spotted in the pits, and putting Dumas in the GTD would be a clever way to squeeze out those last tenths.

Why should any of this matter to everyday drivers? Because the tech does not stay on the prototype. Ford says the aero lessons that keep the truck stable through fast corners can make an F-150 Lightning more efficient on the highway, and the thermal systems that protect the battery during an all-out lap are the same ideas that keep things calm in summer traffic.