We have new images of the upcoming 2023 Ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 trucks. Ford has been testing several of these prototypes in public for some time, and now some of these new prototypes made their way west to Arizona and New Mexico. Here are all the latest details. Will Ford start using gas/electric or diesel/electric hybrid powertrains in their upcoming HD trucks?
Big thanks to @oleiron40 and @tloretto23 via Instagram for sending us these images and video clips.
2023 Ford Super Duty
Let’s start with what appear to be the F-250 prototypes. All of the prototypes that were seen in public are wearing camouflage. We expect the front clip (headlights, grille, and front bumper) and the rear lights to be cosmetically different from the current 2022 Super Duty trucks. The rest of the cab and bed will likely remain the same, although the entire sides are covered in camouflage.
The biggest mystery and question is – what’s under the hood of these redesigned heavy-duty pickup trucks. If you look at the images above, the crew cab truck has a single large diameter tailpipe. It may suggest that it is using a gasoline power plant. Could it be some combination of a gasoline engine and an electric motor? The exhaust pipe may look different on the prototype because it is meant to accept emissions measuring equipment.
We doubt that the new Super Duty will use the same 3.5L twin-turbo V6 Powerboost hybrid that is currently used in the F-150 lineup. For one, the Super Duty 10-speed heavy-duty automatic transmission is physically larger than the 10-speed in the F-150. A Super Duty hybrid may be using their 6.2L V8 or 7.3L V8 engine, but we have no official word or any hint to support the hybrid powertrain theory.
Let’s take a look at the F-350 and F-450 dually prototypes.
There are two different prototypes here. The one with a pickup truck bed and 8-lug hubs is an F-350. The one with a flatbed appears to have 10-lug hubs and 19.5-inch wheels. This one may be an F-450 or an F-550. Please take a look at the video below where I show several short video clips of these prototypes. The dually trucks have dual side-exit exhaust pipes that appear to be the same as on the current PowerStroke 6.7L turbo-diesel V8-powered trucks.
Heavy-duty trucks are unlikely to move away from turbo-diesel engines anytime soon. Ford’s current diesel V8 is already plenty powerful (with 475 hp and 1,050 lb-ft of torque). Will it also be mated with an electric motor to provide increased efficiency and power-export capability? We will have to wait and see.
