Ohio-based Lordstown Motors recently announced that it would be entering a race version of its electric truck in the 2021 SCORE (Southern California Off-Road Enthusiasts) International San Felipe 250 race. The race runs a 290-mile single loop that starts and finishes in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, on April 17. It's not the Baja 1,000 mile race, but it's still going to be a test for the new and unproven truck from a new automotive company.

Lordstown Motors pushes the message hard that it is aiming to build an efficient and hardworking truck, so an endurance race is a great way to demonstrate that. And, we have to admit that, with just a few aesthetic changes, the Endurance looks pretty cool.

Steve Burns, chief executive officer of Lordstown Motors, believes that finishing the 290-mile desert race will demonstrate the "superior traction, weight balance and advanced software control of our hub motor-based Endurance." He wouldn't be wrong as SCORE races are often brutal thrashes through the desert with a habit of chewing up any vehicle showing weakness. It's not just the terrain that challenges vehicles; it's also the heat. While April isn't the hottest month in the Baja desert, average temperatures range around 73.4 °F and can reach 84.2 °F in the afternoons. That's a big challenge for Lordstown's battery and its cooling system.

Lordstown claims its truck has "the fewest moving parts in a motor vehicle," but it still has a skateboard chassis that isn't production-ready. On top of that, the four in-wheel hub motors are subject to every vibration and will be dealing with dust, rocks, water, and silt.

No extra details have been released with the first-look rendering, so it's still unclear if Lordstown believes it can complete the whole 290-mile loop on a single charge. It also hasn't announced any partners for the race or how it will support its drivers on the route. It's not worth cheering Lordstown Motors on to win the event, but we'll certainly watch in the hope that the Endurance Beta race truck proves worthy of its name. It's also worth pointing out that Lordstown is putting its money where its mouth is, something Tesla has been unwilling to do with the Cybertruck.