Ford’s new custom electric pickup truck is a blast from the past

• The Ford F-100 Eluminator concept truck features the retro-styling of a 1978 F-100 pickup with electric motors and batteries from the Mustang Mach-E GT.
• Ford and its partners built the vehicle to showcase its new e-crate motor that’s on sale through its aftermarket and performance division.

Ford Motor unveiled Tuesday a custom truck that combines its past with its future electrification plans, including its highly anticipated F-150 Lightning pickup in 2022.

The “all-electric Ford F-100 Eluminator concept truck” features the retro-styling of a 1978 F-100 pickup with electric motors and batteries from the automaker’s 2021 Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition. Its interior controls and screens also resemble the Mach-E electric crossover.

Ford built the vehicle to showcase its new “e-crate motor” that’s now on sale online and at its dealerships. Such “crate” engines or motors are assembled by the company but are available for general purchase for building, fixing or customizing vehicles.

“Our F-100 Eluminator concept is a preview of how we’re supporting customers as they go all-electric and embrace zero-tailpipe emissions performance, even for our heritage vehicles,” Ford global director of accessories and licensing Eric Cin said in a release.

The custom pickup also provides some hype for the automaker, as it prepares to launch its electric F-150 Lightning pickup during the first half of next year. Many view the pickup as a barometer for whether pickup truck customers — which dominate annual U.S. sales charts — are ready to switch to electric vehicles.

The concept pickup can produce 480 horsepower and 634 foot-pounds of torque, Ford said. It was designed and created by Ford Performance and built-in collaboration with aftermarket companies such as MLe Racecars and Roadster Shop.

Each of Ford’s e-crate motors produces 281 horsepower and 317 foot-pounds of torque and is street-legal in all 50 states, according to the company. Ford said the motor will retail for $3,900.

The Ford F-100 Eluminator was unveiled Tuesday in Las Vegas for SEMA Show, an annual conference for the automotive specialty and aftermarket industries.

The aftermarket business is extremely important to the automotive industry. Automakers annually unveil unique vehicles at the show to gauge consumer interest and showcase new aftermarket products such as Ford’s e-crate motor.

The aftermarket parts industry is a $44.6 billion industry, according to Specialty Equipment Market Association, which puts on the annual show.