It all sounds pretty impressive.
Advertisement
Expect the Super Duty to hit showrooms H2 2016.
As was the case with the unveiling of the 2015 F-150 early past year, the main update to these redesigned Super Duty trucks, beyond a new look, is the aluminum body.
“Ford Super Duty is the truck America’s hardest-working men and women trust and depend on”, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas.
The new body shop of Kentucky is nearly complete and it will be easier for the truck to ramp up in the fall of 2016, when the production will start. Ford also touts “heavier-duty four-wheel-drive components, driveline, axles, and towing hardware” but didn’t release any details on those changes. In our February ’98 inaugural issue of Truck Trend, we said, “The Super Duty will have horse haulers drooling, snow-plow operators sprouting dry heaves, and anyone who tows their classic to shows contemplating whether Ford dealers will take a kidney as a down payment”. It would stand to reason that if the F-150 is in the 700-pound range, that the Super Duty must be 800 or 900 pounds right? There is a new six-speed transmission for the F-250. A blind spot warning system and adaptive cruise control should come in handy going in the other direction. This is created to assist in hitching (the camera can zoom) fifth-wheel and goose-neck trailers.
It’s available with up to seven cameras, including a new attachable trailer camera to improve visibility when backing. Just as with the rest of the Super Duty line-up, the chassis cab models also benefit from aluminum body construction and a number of features available in the pickup model.
According to Ford, the new F-Series Super Duty lineup is the “toughest, smartest, and most capable yet”, and honestly, seeing the laundry list of things Ford has built these trucks to handle, we can’t exactly argue. Naturally, the Super Duty line-up will be available in regular cab, super cab and crew cab guise, offering the basically the same class system: F-250, F-350, F-450.
Over the years, Ford has become synonymous with work trucks, and as long as it gets the job done, their customers are happy.
The 6.2-liter V8 and the 6.8-liter V10 gas engines remain unchanged.
Dennis Slevin, vehicle-engineering manager, said, “This is the first all-new cab for the truck that was first introduced 17 years ago and the first truck in the segment to have an all-aluminum cab”. Auxiliary switches are integrated into the overhead console, and the trailer-brake controller has been moved closer to the driver.
It will also be available with a remote-release tailgate so the driver won’t have to get out and walk around to the back to open the tailgate.
Advertisement
Interior of the 2017 Super Duty King Ranch.
