As if the world hasn’t been turned upside down as it is, we’re now receiving word that Porsche is actually developing a pickup truck through its newly announced partnership with Ford. This pickup truck will actually be positioned in the lower range of Porsche’s offerings and is expected to slot somewhere below the Macan – and you thought 2021 couldn’t get any worse.

Porsche Isn’t Just Rebadging a Ford Pickup

Mercedes learned the hard way that you can’t rebadge a turd and call it luxury – the Nissan X-Class…. Uhem… I mean the Mercedes X-Class proved that point beyond reason. That’s why Porsche isn’t just going to rebadge a Ford F-150. Instead, Porsche is going to borrow the F-150’s ladder frame and Chassis and built its own body, with the cab expected to be similar to that of the Macan. The bed will be an all-new thing for Porsche, but we have it on good authority that Porsche is planning to do everything it can to make the truck stand out as a Porsche.

Klaus Witzbold, Porsche Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Development, said, “Our new partnership with Ford will allow us to tap into a market barely touched outside of the failure that was the Mercedes X-Class, but we’ve learned from our rival’s mistakes, and we’re exited to deliver the luxury workhorse the world deserves.”

As far as power is concerned, this pickup needs to offer the general Porsche driving pleasure while at the same time offering the ability to actually be used for medium-duty work. With this in mind, Porsche will go with the twin-turbo, 2.9-liter, V-6 found in the Cayenne S, which should give the new Porsche pickup around 434 horsepower, 405 pound-feet of torque, and a towing capacity somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,700 pounds when properly equipped. The normal eight-speed Tiptronic S with manual actuation will be the sole transmission on offer while Porsche’s active all-wheel-drive system will come as standard across the range. 60 mph could come in as quick as 5.5 seconds and top speed will be somewhere in the range of 170 mph without a trailer in tow.

Porsche Pickup Specifications

With Porsche hoping to appeal to the younger crowd that want a status symbol they can use for work too, pricing is expected to start out around $48,000, making it cheaper than even the entry-level 718 Cayman, which starts out at $59,900. Oh yeah, and by the way, April Fools – your pulse can return to normal now.