USA - Drive the Future of Tough tour offers an opportunity to test the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever.

• Drive the Future of Tough tour offers an early opportunity to test drive the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever
• 29-city tour continues through Nov. 13, with each site offering vehicle drives, interactive displays and towing demonstrations; product experts are on hand to answer questions on all-new Super Duty’s 17 class-exclusive smart new features
• Consumers can enter for a chance to win an all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty

Ford, America’s truck leader, is offering consumers across the United States an opportunity to test drive the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty – the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever.

Drive the Future of Tough, a 29-city cross-country tour that kicked off earlier this year, continues through Nov. 13. Consumers can schedule test drives at SuperDutyDrive.com, though walk-up participation also is encouraged.

The test route allows truck consumers to experience the all-new Super Duty’s best-in-class capability and its 17 class-exclusive smart new features, including adaptive steering, adaptive cruise control and Trailer Reverse Guidance. Product experts are along for the ride to explain the innovations and answer questions.

“The new Super Duty takes the heavy-duty truck segment to the next level,” says Doug Scott, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Truck customers can learn how it provides best-in-class towing and hauling, and they’ll get to experience Super Duty’s class-exclusive features from the best place possible – the driver’s seat.”

Participants can enter a sweepstakes to win an all-new 2017 F-Series Super Duty. Details are available at tour locations.

The tour includes a variety of well-equipped F-250, F-350 and F-450 models in Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trim levels. The trucks feature a mix of the 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine and 6.7-liter Power Stroke^®turbo diesel. F-250 models are equipped with the all-new TorqShift-G transmission.

The tour features interactive displays to help consumers understand how the all-new Super Duty is Built Ford Tough, starting with its high-strength steel frame construction and high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body and box panels.

Upcoming tour stops include:

• Aug. 16-20, Billings, Montana
• Aug. 19-21, San Antonio
• Aug. 20-28, Louisville, Kentucky
• Aug. 25-27, Dallas
• Sept. 2-5, Henderson, North Carolina
• Sept. 9-18, Puyallup, Washington
• Sept. 9-25, Reno, Nevada
• Sept. 13-15, Grand Island, Nebraska
• Sept. 15-18, Nashville, Tennessee
• Sept. 20-22, London, Ohio
• Sept. 21-Oct. 9, Anaheim, California
• Sept. 24-Oct. 1, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
• Sept. 30-Oct. 11, Dallas
• Oct. 6-8, Concord, North Carolina
• Oct. 13-16, Ormond Beach, Florida
• Oct. 18-20, Moultrie, Georgia
• Nov. 1-5, Las Vegas
• Nov. 8-13, Avondale, Arizona

Media will be invited to participate in select cities.

The best ever Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks.

• Second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke^® V8 turbo diesel boosts horsepower to a class-leading 440 horsepower; torque to class-leading 860 lb.-ft. for all models
• F-450 chassis upgrades raise maximum gooseneck trailer towing capacity to class-leading 31,200 pounds, fifth wheel towing capacity to class-leading 26,500 pounds, and gross combined weight rating to a class-leading 40,000 pounds
• F-350 available with maximum towing package that increases fifth-wheel/gooseneck trailer towing capacity to 26,500 pounds, and raises the gross combined weight rating to 35,000 pounds

Ford F-Series Super Duty reinforces its leadership in the heavy-duty pickup truck market with engine and chassis upgrades for 2015 that together deliver best-in-class horsepower, torque and towing capacity.

Ford’s second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke^® V8 turbo diesel now boasts 440 horsepower, up from 400 horsepower, and 860 lb.-ft. of torque, up from 800 lb.-ft, across all Super Duty models from F-250 to F-450.

The 2015 F-450 tops the F-Series Super Duty pickup truck lineup with maximum towing capacity increasing to a class-leading 31,200 pounds, a gain of 6,500 pounds. The truck’s gross combined weight rating increases to a class-leading 40,000 pounds, a gain of 7,000 pounds.

F-350 increases maximum towing capacity as well, to 26,500 pounds, from 23,200 pounds, and the gross combined weight rating goes up 5,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds.

The improved ratings are a result of designing and engineering the truck as an integrated system. The approach enabled Ford engineers to optimize performance across the full Super Duty lineup.

“Our chassis people work in unison with our powertrain people to develop more than a great truck, it’s a machine engineered for work,” said Doug Scott, Ford Truck group marketing manager. “We’re the only manufacturer that develops and builds our own powertrains in this class and when you combine that with a chassis that’s purpose-built for best-in-class power and torque, you can feel the result in the way it drives, especially when towing big loads.”

“Our chassis people have worked in unison with our powertrain people to develop more than a great truck – it’s a machine engineered for work,” he adds.

Power Stroke Engine Improvements
The 2015 Super Duty achieves best-in-class towing performance with a second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel engine that was further developed to provide more power, torque and efficiency.

“The 6.7-liter Power Stroke was already a stout engine,” said Robert Fascetti, Ford vice president powertrain engineering. “The improvements we’ve made essentially give Super Duty customers an engine designed for our larger F-650 and F-750 trucks. They may not realize how tough this engine really is.”

Key innovations on the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel are its compacted graphite iron engine block and reverse-flow layout. This segment-exclusive design places the exhaust inside the engine’s V-shape, with while the air intake positioned on the outside resulting in a variety of advancements:

• Shorter airflow from the exhaust system to the new, larger turbocharger sitting between the engine’s cylinder banks improves turbo responsiveness – key to providing torque quickly to truck customers when they need it most
• Positioning the turbo inside the engine’s valley helps isolate the engine’s hottest temperatures, improving performance and efficiency, while also reducing noise, vibration and harshness to improve driver comfort

Enhancements include a larger turbocharger for faster air displacement resulting in more power. The engine block is made of compacted graphite iron, which is stronger yet lighter than cast iron, is more wear-resistant and has enhanced sealing properties.

“The designers of the original 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel predicted that it would eventually need to be upgraded for higher output,” said David Ives, Ford Power Stroke technical specialist. “They designed it in a way that made it easier to add a larger turbocharger, increasing airflow and creating more power for dramatically improved performance, yet we haven’t lost any efficiency.”

New injector tips spray a finer mist of fuel into the cylinders which provides a more complete burn and helps reduce noise, vibration and harshness. Other benefits include lower emissions and less fuel deposit buildup on the intake valves over time.

The engine enhancements give the Power Stroke engine a class-leading maximum output of 440 horsepower and 860 lb.-ft. of torque.

Chassis improvements
The F-350 is available with a high-capacity towing package that includes new front springs and a wide track axle, increasing the gross combined weight rating with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke engine from 31,900 pounds to 35,000 pounds.

Improvements to the F-450 that allow it to handle the increased tow rating include commercial- grade 19.5-inch wheels and tires; upgraded rear U-joints and suspension components, including new rear leaf springs; front and rear stabilizer bars; and shocks. The steering system has stronger gears and linkages and the fifth-wheel/gooseneck has an increased towing capacity. The brakes are larger brakes and feature new antilock brake calibration for enhanced braking performance.