Ford unveils new, aluminum Super Duty

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All-New Ford F-450 Super Duty with horse trailer

As expected, Ford announced this morning that its all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty will get a dose of high-strength aluminum.

While aluminum helped the smaller F-150 shed upwards of 700 pounds, Super Duty’s weight-savings came in at around 350 pounds thanks in part to a more rigid frame.

Next generation Super Duty will get a fully boxed frame comprised of more than 95 percent high-strength steel that Ford says is up to 24 times stiffer than the previous frame. The new truck line also features heavier-duty four-wheel-drive components, driveline, axles and towing hardware.

“As we remove weight, we’re making Super Duty more productive by giving our customers better towing and payload capability,” says Craig Schmatz, Super Duty chief engineer. “We’re backing up improved capability with a stronger gasoline and diesel Super Duty engine lineup.”

Super Duty chassis cab features an all-new, high-strength steel frame with an open-C-channel design behind the cab for easy aftermarket body upfit and modification.

Click here to see Super Duty’s Fact Sheet

Super Duty also got an expected upgrade in technolgy, including new advanced coaching and camera technology that makes conventional and gooseneck/fifth-wheel towing easier and more efficient.

As many as seven cameras offer views of more angles and monitor conditions surrounding the truck, along with providing better trailering. A 360-degree camera system uses four digital, high-definition cameras to give the driver a bird’s-eye view surrounding their Super Duty.

Super Duty offers 16 other segment-first new features.

A center high-mounted stop lamp camera provides visibility into the cargo box, especially for easier hook-up of gooseneck/fifth-wheel trailers.  Trailer reverse guidance provides visual cues and tips to help ease backing up a trailer, and a first-ever, factory-available trailer camera can be attached to a trailer to improve visibility backing up.

An in-cab trailer tire pressure monitoring system is also available – another segment-first.

Adaptive steering provides helps make towing heavy loads easier and brings greater ease to navigating job sites and parking lots – with or without a trailer. The technology reduces the amount of steering input needed to change direction at low speed, while reducing sensitivity to steering input at higher speeds.

The all-new F-Series Super Duty is available with numerous driver-assist technologies:

  • SYNC 3 – Ford’s all-new communications and entertainment system features faster performance, conversational voice recognition and an easier-to-understand graphical interface, along with an intuitive smartphone-like 8-inch touch screen
  • Blind Spot Information System with trailer tow is optimized for Super Duty to include the length of the trailer; BLIS uses radar sensors in the taillamps to monitor areas that may not be visible to the driver
  • Lane departure warning provides a warning when a driver strays from a lane through a series of steering wheel vibrations that mimic rumble strips
  • Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support use sensors to detect slower vehicles moving in the same direction.  If another vehicle is too close, red lights flash on the windshield and a warning sound chimes. If the driver does not hit the brakes, the brake system is pre-charged to stop faster when the brake pedal is pressed

Advanced light-emitting diode technology sheds light all around the new Super Duty, including:

  • New LED sideview mirror spotlights enable illumination surrounding the truck to light up a work site or camp site
  • Class-exclusive quad-beam LED headlamps and taillamps
  • New LED cargo box lighting 

A second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel engine is available for pickup trucks and chassis cabs, while a 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine equipped with the new TorqShift-G transmission is available for the F-250.

[ click to enlarge + ][ click to enlarge + ]All three cabs – Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab – are longer and feature a new interior design, including dual compartment glove box, overhead console-mounted auxiliary switches to operate aftermarket equipment, and completely flat SuperCab and Crew Cab second-row floors. Vital controls are close at hand, with the integrated trailer brake controller switch located even closer to the driver.

Customer accessibility and ease of use extend outside the truck as well, with the cargo box offering customers these class-exclusive features:

  • BoxLink: Ford-patented combination of metal brackets and custom cleats that can be used to secure a variety of accessories in the cargo box
  • Remote tailgate lock and release: Tailgate can be locked/unlocked and opened with the key fob, eliminating manual locking and increasing convenience and security. The tailgate is damped – dropping gently down, hands-free, to a flat position when opened.