After Lordstown Motors confirmed it will begin building its fleet of Beta prototypes of the Endurance pickup next month, new reports surfaced that another prototype caught fire during testing just weeks earlier.
The incident reportedly took place on January 13 in Farmington Hills, Michigan. According to the Farmington Press, the police department arrived at the scene where the fire occurred at 12:31 AM. According to the report, the driver told the police he was conducting the Lordstown Endurance’s first test after it was “cleared inside the facility.”
According to the driver, he noticed the pickup truck was not driving properly after about ten minutes on the road. He then stopped and exited the vehicle which is when his saw flames coming from underneath. Our first instinct is to think battery pack considering the location of the fire. Interestingly enough, Lordstown has yet to revealed who is supplying the battery packs for the electric pickup. Shortly after arriving, the Farmington Hills Fire Department extinguished the fire and towed the burned electric pickup truck to an undisclosed location.
The police requested identification information for the prototype which the driver said he would provide the following day. No information was given on whether or not the pickup was confirmed an Endurance prototype, or if the fire will be investigated by the police. We will update this article as more details become available.
As mentioned above, Lordstown Motors recently confirmed that it will start to build its fleet of Beta prototypes of the Endurance pickup next month. The automaker expects the first units to be ready in March.