Workhorse W-15 Is an Electric Pickup Truck with Unbelievable Performance Figures

We can all rest assured, Tesla is working on it as we speak and, in no more than two years or so, we'll probably have the first long-range electric truck that'll make Ford's audacity to use aluminum instead of steel seem like child's play. You can already see the Chevrolet ads: "Tesla's trucks use electricity, whereas ours run on gas. Let's see how electricity does when we try to pour it from one cup to another. You see? Gasoline is better. Buy Chevrolet."

But until Musk finishes drilling all the way to China and actually gets to work on the pickup, we have this little thing from Workhorse to keep us occupied. It's called the W-15, it costs just $52,000 and has a 60 kWh battery pack. Oh, and it looks kind of weird.

Workhorse calls this thing a "proof of concept," so expect some visual tweaks on the final version that should arrive next year. As it stands now, the W-15 is strikingly similar to the drawings we were shown last November, when the Ohio-based company made its intentions clear of beating Tesla and being the first to build and sell an all-electric pickup truck.

Only the W-15 isn't all-electric per se. It is powered by two electric motors - one on each wheel - that suck from a 60 kWh battery pack, which is enough to give it an 80-mile maximum range (about 130 km). When that's done, the onboard gasoline engine kicks in and powers the battery, making the W-15 a range-extended electric vehicle. The combined maximum range is thus pushed to 310 miles (500 km), which is more than plenty.

While some don't agree with the whole range extender philosophy, it is a great way to eliminate range anxiety while also allowing the vehicle to drive in electric-only mode for as long as possible without producing any tailpipe emissions.

On the utility side, the Workhorse W-15 has a towing capability of 5,500 lbs (around 2,500 kg) and is planned to offer a maximum payload of 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg). It also provides the option of powering any tools on the site, negating the need for a gasoline or diesel portable power generator.

The Workhorse W-15 should start at a price of $52,000 before incentives, making it extremely accessible for an electric vehicle this size and with such terrific figures: 460 hp, all-wheel-drive and 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in just 5.5 seconds. If everything goes to plan - and Workhorse has been true to its promises so far - production should start midway through next year.