Ford's Super Duty F-Series pickups - that's F-250s and up - just got a little more super. The fanciness starts with Ford's new, quieter, more efficient, B20 (20% biodiesel / 80% petroleum diesel) compatible Power Stroke turbo diesel V8.
Designed and built fully in-house, the 6.7 liter is best-in-class all around. It develops 390 horsepower while dropping what we like to call a torque bomb - 735 lb-ft at 1,600 RPM.
Depending on chassis selection, towing capacity ranges from 14,000 lbs (F-250/350 single rear wheel) to 26,400 lbs (F-550 with the fifth-wheel hitch). Payloads range from 4,050 lbs in an F-250 to 6,520 lbs in an F-350 dually.
For those not needing to tow planets, Ford also provides an E85-sipping 6.2 liter V8. If it sounds familiar, that's because it's the same 385-horse, 405 lb-ft mill found in SVT's Raptor.
Shifting for either is provided by Ford's new TorqShift 6-speed transmission, combining the best of both automatic and manual transmissions (or so Ford says).
Basically, the new system offers SelectShift with a nifty trick: Progressive Range Select, which limits how high the transmission is able to shift via a toggle switch that also acts as a manual gear selector.
Also, with the Power Take Off (PTO) option installed, the transmission can be be hooked up to external hardware, which is driven by the crankshaft via an output gear connected to the torque converter.
All-in-all, Ford's new lineup of Super Dutys (does that sound like a commercial?) sounds top-notch and tech-loaded. As always, we'll have to wait for reviews and customer input before judgments can be made. Let the stump-towing wars commence...
- By Phil Alex
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