Ford to reveal aluminum-body Super Duty

The all-new Super Duty will be up to 350 pounds lighter than the current model, but will give customers more towing and hauling capability. Oh, and with a lot of added coolness straight from the factory.

So, what does this new iteration brings to the table?

Nothing illustrates the range of those trucks better than the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty, which follows the F-150′s trail into swapping its steel body for a lighter aluminum skin-but puts much of that savings back into an even-tougher chassis. And you know how the US vehicle makers like to infuse the cool factor with the bucketload in their products, right?

Following a similar change in the latest F-150, the 2017 Super Duty will include a military-grade aluminum-alloy body, which the company says is more dent- and ding-resistant than the outgoing steel body and not subject to red rust corrosion.

Ford’s Super Duty trucks are entering the aluminum age. And I mean packed.

The new truck also has a number of high-tech features, like a 360-degree camera system that allows the driver to see the truck as if from above. The Super Duty will also offer newly available active safety features, including blind-spot warning, lane-departure warning, forward collision warning, and adaptive cruise control.

The all-new Super Duty will be available for sale at the end of calendar 2016.

Exterior styling will vary slightly between trim lines, which include XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Ford has not yet revealed any power outputs, payload and towing capacities, but says they will all be “more” than the trucks they replace.

Ford also highlighted the 16 segment-first new features that help towing easier and more efficient than ever.

Customers will benefit from a segment-first, in-cab trailer tire pressure monitoring system from the comfort of the cab while stopped or on the highway. In order to handle higher loads, the Super Duty uses thicker gauges of aluminum in key areas.

For powertrains, the 6.7L Power Stroke V-8 diesel engine is available for both pickup and chassis cab models.

Pricing has not yet been announced for the vehicle which will be built at a Ford plant in Kentucky. It’s an all-new design that’s said to be 24 times stiffer than the previous one. Auxiliary switches are integrated into the overhead console, and the trailer-brake controller has been moved closer to the driver.

Out back, a remote tailgate lock and release function is integrated into the key fob, and dampers gently drop the tailgate into the full open position.

Using the same basic platform and cab for 17 years, the Super Duty has been refined and improved to ensure it remained relevant in hotly contested truck space.