Ford Ranger Super Duty heading to the UK to tackle the toughest jobs
‘Mega Ranger’ designed for Aussie mining duties is set to come to the UK
Super Duty is a name that’s been used by Ford in the US for more than 25 years to denote heavyweight versions of its pick-up trucks. It’s usually reserved for larger F-250/F-350/F-450 models that are designed with the toughest jobs in mind, but the Super Duty name has also found its way to the Australian version of the Ranger. And now Ford is considering selling the Ranger Super Duty in the UK.
We first saw the Super Duty at the CV Show in Birmingham this year, while the IAA Transportation show in Hanover has given us a chance to take a closer look. The model is the result of a requirement for the mining industry in Australia, where the Ranger was developed. Tough off-road capability was needed, so Ford Australia beefed up the standard Ranger to cope, and changes include a substantial front bumper that’s designed to accommodate a winch, while the lower front end has a skid plate to boost the truck’s approach angle. There are black steel wheels with heavy-duty all-terrain tyres, extra wheelarch cladding and a snorkel. At the back, the Super Duty is based on the Chassis Cab version of the Ranger, so comes with a large, wide aluminium bed in place of the usual cargo area.
There’s additional strengthening to the chassis and suspension, and the fuel tank is larger, too, but all of this adds extra weight, so much so that in the UK a Class 3 driving licence would be required – one that allows drivers to get behind the wheel of light goods vehicles weighing up to 7.5 tonnes.
Also upgraded is the Ranger’s towing capacity, up from 3.5 tonnes for the standard pick-up to a massive 4.5 tonnes, while the towing capacity has increased to 1.8 tonnes and the Gross Vehicle Mass is nine tonnes in total.
Speaking at the CV Show in Birmingham earlier in the year, Ford’s commercial vehicle director, Alex Gallagher, told Auto Express: “We’re interested to understand what the UK would think about it. There’s no launch plan as yet, we’re testing the reaction and we’ll see what interest is like. It’s an engineering project – this is what we can do and what Ford is capable of.”
There’s no word on prices for the Ford Ranger Super Duty in the UK, but if it’s sold here, it’s likely to be a big step up from the £50,000 (plus VAT) of a high-spec Ranger Platinum with the 237bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel.
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