The Lordstown Endurance EV pickup drives Baja Racing … kind of

Update 05.03.21: Lordstown has confirmed on social media that it is partnering with Brenthel Industries for the San Felipe 250. Tests of the skateboard, including the Lordstown drivetrain and hub motors, are ongoing.

Update 03/04/21: We still don’t have an official word on who is behind the Lordstown EV build for Rils SCORE races. However, the internet has stepped in to help with the investigation. FishGistics (@FishGistics) took a photo at Brenthel Industries in Temecula, California, and in the background, if you look closely, lurks a flat frame depicting the early stages of the Lordstown skateboard. The placement of the cross members of the frame is the same as that of Lordstown. If Brenthel is working on the Lordstown project, the team’s work will definitely be suspended for the next few weeks. Others think this frame belongs to a different manufacturer (perhs ram?) For a different race.

Update 02/25/21: This article has been updated with additional information, including a depiction of the racing car released by Lordstown.

Original story: Do you remember the first time you heard an angry V-8 Trophy Truck romping through the desert? Like a freight train late for delivery or an irritated elephant trampling the savannah, the anger of a racing car literally shakes the ground – and turns many into off-road believers. Well, as they say, the only constant is change. Soon the ground will shake silent As a pickup based on the electric Lordstown Endurance pickup, it will drive the SCORE International San Felipe 250 in 2021.

Lordstown Motors Corporation plans to build the Endurance at their 6.2 million square foot Lordstown assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The plant was previously a General Motors location from 1966 to 2019. Endurance strives to meet the needs of the hard workforce efficiently and effectively. It is aimed at the commercial fleet market and is expected to start production in September.

Lordstown enters his Endurance Beta skateboard in the grueling desert race, which means his racing vehicle will ride the electric chassis platform (hence “Skateboard”) and the company’s race-ready version of the company’s pickup body (rendered on the company’s picture in the picture) above this article). It’s apparently loaded with all sorts of racing car tidbits to pass the technical inspection, yet is tough enough for gnarly racing conditions. Lordstown began testing its beta skateboard in January. Progress goes to Prototype, Alpha, Beta, Pre-Production, and then Production.

Steve Burns, Lordstown Motors CEO, believes completing the 290 mile single lap race will be evidence of the “superior traction, weight balance and advanced software control of our hub motor-based endurance.” Indeed, doing just one SCORE race is a big deal for any contestant as desert races tend to absolutely devastate vehicles. It would be a great achievement for Lordstown.

It is doubtful that the San Felipe adventure from Lordstown will be without any problems. It is the first time driving for Lordstown, and the first increased pain. Will the electric platform withstand dust, silt, stones, water, dirt, and severe abuse? Remember that the chassis is far from being up to production specifications. Do the four wheel hub motors hold up? Will the vehicle as a whole exhibit mechanical failure and its drivers avoid mistakes? If the endurance has a range of 250 miles, how does the beta skateboard run 290 miles? Will the team quickly charge or change the battery during pit stops, or will the setup have a longer range? While no electric vehicle has attempted the San Felipe 250, others have attacked the desert. Rivian, for example, entered the R1T at the 2020 Rebelle Rally.

We don’t know who Lordstown is working with on this San Felipe 250 project. The off-road racing scene is full of qualified partners, as is the fringes of drifting, road racing, motorcycle racing and so on. I love it or I hate it, electric racing is all the rage right now. A specific candidate may be Greg Foutz of Foutz Motorsports, who previously did has teamed up with Ford to use the F-150 Rtor in the Mint 400. After all, Foutz Motorsports is clearing out Rtor spare parts from previous racing programs to make room … what exactly?

The 2021 SCORE International San Felipe 250 will take place on July 17, 2021 and will begin and end in San Felipe, Baja California. Lordstown’s grit is revealed during this race of endurance.

This post was originally published on February 23, 2021.