The Ford E-100 Is A Design Student’s Proposal For A Small Electric Pickup For The City

Pickups are the next frontier for electric vehicles and Ford just unveiled the F-150 Lightning. But the trucks we’ve seen so far have all been rather large, so what are people in dense cities to do? Tyler Kwon, a student at the College for Creative Studies in Transportation Design imagines what a smaller electric Ford pickup could look like.

The E 100, as he calls it, was the Detroit area student’s sophomore design project, so it actually predates the F-150 Lightning and takes advantage of electric vehicles’ compact drivetrain packaging to shrink the dimensions.

The design incorporates the language of tools in its elements to imbue the E 100 with a sense of utility. The DRLs, for instance, are described as c-clamps and they bracket the octagonal grille. In the door, there’s a removable panel that reveals a storage area that can be used to store power tools and other items.

The bed of the truck, meanwhile, is designed with mounting points built in to help with tying down loads. The bed, these sketches suggest, is big enough to carry a dirt bike despite the pickup’s compact proportions. As with the F-150 Lightning, the E 100 also has a frunk for storing items up front.

Although Kwon imagines the E 100 as being based on a “skateboard” platform with batteries under the floor, he adds a removable section of batteries for unexpected situations. A bit like a jerry can, you could carry a few of these small packs with you to top up quickly. It’s a neat idea that could easily be useful for off-roaders and road-trippers.

Note: This is a rendering by Tyler Kwon and is not related to or endorsed by Ford