You may soon be able to buy an extra axle from Ford to make a 6×6 yourself

The extra axle could then have an electric motor to turn your Ford into a PHEV

When you think of a pick-up with six wheels, you quickly think of the G-class, but Ford's showpiece is also available with three axles. But not yet from Ford itself. Hennessey added two rear wheels to the previous F-150 and dubbed the creation “VelociRaptor 6×6.” Ford takes a cue from the Texans and is now thinking about an F-150 6×6. The first patents have surfaced.

CarBuzz found a document from Ford at the US patent office . Ford is playing with the idea of a third axle that you can retrofit. The kit consists of an extra axle and a chassis extension. Anyone who is a little handy could carry out the conversion themselves, otherwise the dealer will of course be happy to do it for you.

Why does Ford want a 6×6 version of the F-150?

The main function of the extra axle is to carry more weight. The new F-150 can carry 390 kilos less than the previous pickup, because Ford wanted to simplify the offering. Options that were not often ordered, including the 'Heavy Payload' package, disappeared. Apparently there is a market for a third axle.

By the way, we don't see any drawings of the body yet. This will also have to be adjusted to accommodate the two extra wheels. This would be virtually impossible in a normal car, but the cargo box could be dismantled relatively easily to install a longer one. Then, in addition to extra wheels, you also have extra loading space.

Then the big question is still: how do you drive the rear wheels? You would probably need to replace the second axle differential. Or you take a smarter approach: in the patents you see that Ford is considering an electric motor. This way you don't have to adjust anything to the current drivetrain and you suddenly have a PHEV to also reduce consumption. Pretty cool.

The drawing of the additional axle with an electric motor and battery | Photo: © United States Patent and Trademark Office

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