The fabric-covered Fering Pioneer is entering the next stage of its development

Towards the end of 2021 we received word of a very interesting Brit automotive startup. A firm called Fering had been set up by ex-Ferrari and McLaren engineer Ben Scott-Geddes, with the first car set to be a fabric-panelled pickup truck called the Pioneer.

And it seems that all is going well for Fering, because the Pioneer has completed its first phase of testing, and funding has now been secured for PHASE TWO.

Essentially that means two more prototypes can be built and the first prototype can be stripped down to check and upgrade its many interesting components. Those components include an electric motor for each axle, a small battery that provides a range of around 50 miles and a range-extending 800cc three-cylinder biodiesel combustion engine. The eventual spec will be decided by the customer’s needs, but we were originally told that with long-range fuel tanks fitted the Pioneer can manage 4,350 miles without a stop. Yikes. 

Fering describes the Pioneer as “compact, lightweight and unusually efficient”. It’s a pickup truck that’s no larger than a ‘typical delivery van’ and ‘shorter than a Ford Mondeo Estate’. Nice to see that the references are topical…

Anyway, the pioneering Pioneer apparently won over its investors when it was demonstrated at its off-road test days, and the new funding will mean that the two new prototypes can be built to the specs of the first confirmed customers. Low-volume production should then start in late 2023 or early 2024.

Fancy a fabric pickup truck?