The Ford F-150’s New “Frunk” Started as a Cardboard Box

Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup will sport the largest front trunk in the automotive industry and, according to Ford, it all started with a cardboard prototype.

The 2022 F-150 Lightning’s frunk, as it’s known in the industry, has about 400 liters (14.1 cubic feet) of cargo space and a 400-pound payload capacity. They say it’s about enough room for two golf bags, but if those are tipping the scales around 400 pounds, it’s time to upgrade those woods.

Officially, it’s called the Mega Power Frunk, and it also includes a drainable floor, waterfall hood design, multiple power supplies, and it can be opened six different ways.

The project started in February 2018 when Team Edison, Ford’s EV incubator, spoke with actual Ford truck and fleet customers to talk about potential frunk uses.

Next, the team made a prototype out of cardboard to help customers wrap their heads around a trunk in the front. Cardboard was cheap, and the prototype required little more than scissors and a hot glue gun.

Some customers wanted a frunk that was lockable to secure valuables out of plain view. Fleet owners envisioned the ability to carry everything from concrete to charging tools at a worksite. They also wanted it well-lit.

The result is an asymmetrical space that the team designed like a cooler box because it needed to be durable and cleanable, but with a rubber floor, so things didn’t slide around. Once they had the shape and size, it was just a matter of adding as many features as possible, like four electrical outlets and two USB chargers.

Finally, it had to be accessible. Traditional hoods are typically higher off the ground. If the Lightning’s frunk was going to be usable, it had to be about waist high.

Now, the front trunk isn’t new. Teslas, Porsches, and other vehicles have had frunks for some time, and a few keen viewers even caught one on Tesla’s Cybertruck during its unveiling. The feature will likely become a standard feature as automakers start going fully electric within the next ten years.

The 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup should hit the market as soon as Spring 2022, and people will be eager to check out the Mega Power Frunk that Chief Program Engineer Linda Zhang calls "Frunking awesome!”