Hercules Alpha: The 750kW electric Nissan pick-up
A startup in the US says it is planning an electric pick-up for the American market.
Hercules says its electric ute – named the Alpha – will be based on the Nissan Titan, a full-size pick-up only available in North America.
Rather than developing a vehicle from scratch, Hercules plans to re-engineer the Titan into a fully-electric vehicle, claiming the vehicle will produce around 750kW from its four electric motors.
While details of the Alpha's battery system are yet to be announced, the company claims the vehicle will have a driving range of around 480 kilometres, and will use a solar array on the tonneau cover.
Despite being relatively unknown, Hercules has made some bold claims, announcing it has raised US$27 million (AU$38M) from early customer reservations.
As the startup offers reservations at a cost of US$1500 per vehicle, 18,000 orders seems optimistic, especially considering a prototype is yet to be built.
This week General Motors revealed its new Hummer, a fully-electric SUV and pick-up with 735kW and a claimed 0-96km/h time of 3.0 seconds.
Electric utes from Ford, Tesla, Rivian, Lordstown, and a number of other manufacturers are expected in the coming years.