Ford's CEO Jim Farley has given Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull's marketing driver, a sneak peek of "some really special EV performance demonstrators," including a new concept variant of the Ford F-150 Lightning that we haven't yet met. The tweet from Ford's head honcho confirmed our prior suspicions that such a truck was on the way, but his wording has left us wondering what else might be revealed in the coming months.
Farley used the words "demonstrators," meaning there's more than one. Farley may have been referring to things like the Mustang Mach-E 1400 and the fourth iteration of the Ford Supervan, both of which were driven by Red Bull Racing drivers ahead of the announcement of the collaboration between the two brands.
Ford recently shared a Ford Performance infographic showing the roadmap for the future. It shows a blanked-out Ford Mustang racer, which lines up with the expected reveals of the Mustang GT3 and Mustang GT4 based on the S650-generation pony car. The slide also showcased the F-150 Lightning-based demonstrator we've now seen our first glimpse of and also confirmed a new off-road truck - likely the Ranger Raptor.
Finally, in 2026, the two brands will share intellectual property to comply with the new engine regulations, and Ford will be 100% responsible for the 50% of the power unit that is required to be electric.
A few days ago, Farley revealed that Red Bull Racing was already helping Ford develop an EV. Farley said several Red Bull engineers were working with his "skunkworks" team, which suggests they aren't working on a more affordable entry-level product. If Red Bull were to place its name on anything, it must be fast.
As you can see in the image, the Lightning in question sits much lower to the ground. The purple/blue hue on the white truck remains a mystery. It's not the same blue found on the Red Bull F1 car, and the F-150 Lightning hardly showcases any incredible aerodynamics alluded to by Farley of the new co-developed model.
However, we wouldn't put it past Ford to leverage the new partnership for marketing purposes, even for concepts like this. The most potent F-150 Lightning currently produces 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque. That's not enough to carry the Red Bull badge, so Ford could go completely off the rails and introduce a quad-motor powertrain in the Lightning like the seven-motor spectacle from the Mustang Mach-E 1400, which produced 1,400 hp.
While Red Bull Ford will only start competing together in 2026, work is already underway. We can expect many Red Bull limited edition cars, possibly named after the drivers.