Ranger

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

As we all know, today's Ford Ranger is not electrified. It's purely internal combustion and the current generation is likely to stay that way. Chances are it'll be the Ford F-150 receiving the electrification treatment first. But if you still have your heart set on owning a fully electric Ranger and aren't willing to wait a few more years, then this could be an interesting solution. Up for sale on eBay in Austin, Texas is this 2000 model year Ranger EV.

From the outside, it looks like a regular old school Ranger, but under the hood it's anything but. Some of you may recall that back at the turn of the century, Ford built an electric Ranger powered by lead-acid batteries and, later on, metal nickel-hydride. Production lasted from 1998 through 2002 and all units were manufactured in (very appropriately) Edison, New Jersey.

A majority of these trucks were leased for fleet use, but a few individuals somehow managed to obtain them for a lease period ranging from three to five years. The leases finally ended in 2004 at the same time of a recall.

But why were they exclusively offered to lease? Because the price tag would have been around $52,000 each, an insane amount for what was essentially a Ranger XL 4x2 Regular Cab. A three-year lease price of $155 a month was far more reasonable. Instead of its inline-four engine, it has an electric powertrain consisting of a three-phase induction motor producing about 90 horsepower. The interior is also nearly identical to a regular Ranger, with the main exceptions being a charge indicator in place of the typical fuel gauge and a few other indicators such as for charging. Even the steering wheel column shifter operates nearly the same. The exterior's most notable difference? A charging port where the gas cap normally is.

However, because EVs were still at a very early stage at the time, the Ranger EV had a very limited range of about 80 miles and it weighed over 4,000 pounds. The Ranger EV up for sale here has had some recent work done, such as replacing its batteries with a battery pack sourced from a Chevy Volt.

There's still more work to complete the project as it can currently only go about four miles on a single charge. The seller claims there's simply more work to be done than they have time for. Priced at $5,900, lower offers are still being taken but the auction is scheduled to end in a little over three weeks.