Endurance exhausted in Mexican desert race

The US startup Lordstown Motors wanted to demonstrate the capabilities of its future all-electric Endurance pickup truck at a desert race in Mexico, but the plan went awry due to energy management issues.

Lordstown had to withdraw the Endurance prototype from the race after the first 40-mile leg because the vehicle was consuming more energy than previously thought. The engineers from Lordstown had calculated that the desert race would consume about triple the normal energy compared to driving on the road, but in reality consumption was closer to quadruple.

“We didn’t finish the race because the desert terrain really uses a lot of energy, more than we had anticipated,” Lordstown chief executive and founder Steve Burns said. “We decided [it was] best not to take that leg and possibly block the trail for somebody else.”

While Lordstown did not complete the race, at least the company was able to successfully test the other systems in the Endurance electric pickup truck, including the in-hub motors, drivetrain and battery pack, in the harsh desert conditions.
carscoops.com