Jay Leno recreated Sam Walton's 1979 Ford pickup with an electric F-150 Lightning
Walmart founder used the truck for work and hunting
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ford's newest pickup is going old school.
Jay Leno has turned an electric F-150 Lightning into a tribute to Walmart founder Sam Walton's famous 1979 F-150 Custom.
Walton's truck is featured in the Walmart museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, which is housed in the original Walton's Five and Dime store.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Walton bought the truck as his personal vehicle the same year the company first hit a billion dollars in sales.
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Jay Leno collaborated with Walmart and Ford on a modern recreation of Sam Walton's 1979 F-150. (Ford)
Walton wrote in his autobiography, "why do I drive a pickup truck? What am I supposed to haul my dogs around in, a Rolls-Royce?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jay Leno had the electric F-150 Lightning customized to look like Walton's truck. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
He bought the red and white truck off the lot and used it for work and hunting. The entry-level 4x4 is equipped with an inline-six-cylinder engine and four-speed manual transmission, making it quite the contrast to the F-150 Lightning.
Sam Walton purchased an F-150 that looks like this one in 1979 to use for work and hunting. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
The makeover is purely cosmetic, however, and limited to the two-tone paint that's not available from the factory. But the XLT-trim truck does share another feature with Walton's: a dog box installed in the bed.
"I really think these kind of electric vehicles will help us keep our internal combustion engines, because you'll use your electric vehicle maybe to commute, go to work and do things like that, then you use your Mustang, your Camaro, whatever it might be on the weekends to go out and have fun," Leno said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Walton's original truck is on display at the Walmart museum in Bentonville, Arkansas. (Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images)
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Walmart sells the Jay Leno's Garage line of car care products and the two collaborated with Ford on the project. The truck will be used for promotional events.
Hot Wheels once created a version of Walton's truck. (Walmart)
Walmart this year ordered 1,100 Ford E-Transit electric delivery vans and has nearly all of them in service already making local deliveries around the country.
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A recreation of Walton's original truck was on hand at the Woodward Dream Cruise, where Leno unveiled the Lightning, and is often parked out front of the museum.