Answering the Call: How We Built the Ranger Super Duty
Melbourne, Australia, November 27, 2025 – The Ford Ranger Super Duty is a heavy-duty medium pickup truck engineered from the ground up to meet the demands of Australia’s remote and punishing work environments. It combines a significantly reinforced chassis with intelligent payload and off-road technology, all validated through one of the most extreme testing programs we’ve ever undertaken.
What’s in a name?
Names are important. They give something an identity, a purpose. At Ford, the name Super Duty stands for a commitment to making tough jobs easier, all day, every day. It’s a ‘promise’ we only stamp onto a truck when we’re sure it has the heavy-duty ingredients to deliver.
This legacy began in the 1950s with a family of engines built for our hardest-working trucks and evolved into a complete product philosophy, culminating in the first standalone Super Duty in 1998, a truck that has been a mainstay on farms, building sites, and in the world’s most remote places ever since.
“We’ve applied that same purpose-driven thinking to the Ranger Super Duty. This truck is the factory-developed solution to a problem hard-working people told us they had,” said Sondra Sutton-Phung, general manager of global truck.
The new Ranger was the perfect starting point—robust, comfortable, and safe. From there, we engineered it to be even stronger, delivering the GVM, towing, and capability that industry told us it needed. This wasn't about creating a new variant; it was about building a truck from the ground up to work hard. Building in that tough-job-ready capability is what allowed us to stamp this truck as a Ranger Super Duty, a name that is more than just skin deep.
So, while it’s been built for heavy-duty work it remains incredibly consumer friendly. If you've got a tough job, a heavy job, or an extreme job, the Ranger Super Duty is the pickup built to help you get it done.
Why We Built It: A Mission Born from Our Customers
Ranger Super Duty didn’t start with a sketch. It started with listening. We spent time with the people who depend on their trucks in the most remote terrain—forestry crews, land managers, hard-working fleet teams, and emergency service workers.
“The stories we heard were always about compromise,” said Jeremy Welch, a strategic projects manager at Ford Australia. “They told us about being unable to reach critical locations because the only vehicles strong enough to carry their gear were simply too big and unwieldy for the tracks. It was a problem we knew we had to solve.”
That feedback became our clear and ambitious target: build a medium-sized truck that could tow more, carry more, and be more capable. It had to be a flexible workhorse, ready to adapt to a range of demanding roles and environments.
How We Built It: A Foundation of Uncompromising Strength
Ranger Super Duty launches as a Single, Super, or Double Cab Chassis, with a Double Cab style-side box model following in mid-2026.
Under the sculpted bonnet lies Ford’s proven 3.0L V6 turbo diesel, calibrated to meet stringent EU6.2 emissions standards, ensuring it’s ready to work for years to come. An improved cooling system manages temperatures under heavy loads and during sustained, difficult off-roading. For added control, the Ranger Super Duty also gives customers the option to delay the automatic diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration, allowing them to manually initiate the cleaning cycle at a more convenient time.
Engineers knew this truck would be pushed harder and driven in more challenging locations. To prepare it for the worst, they mounted the differential, transmission, fuel, and transfer case breathers high to protect them from the elements.
This, combined with an improved water-wading depth (850mm) compared to other diesel Ranger variants, gives drivers greater confidence. As Drew O’Shannassy, Ranger Super Duty program supervisor, notes, "Extensive testing in controlled and real-world situations proved Ranger Super Duty has the capability needed for everyone from emergency services to farmers and recreational off-roaders."
To master that terrain, the Ranger Super Duty offers seven selectable drive modes1—Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Mud/Ruts2, Sand2, and Rock Crawl2—that tailor everything from throttle response to stability control. This is powered by Ford’s advanced four-wheel drive system, which runs in 4A (Automatic 4WD) to ensure maximum torque is delivered for enhanced traction. The two-speed transfer case features larger, stronger components than regular Ranger, and its low-range gearset has been upgraded to match the legendary F-Series Super Duty, helping provide dependable performance in extreme low-range situations.
Traction is further enhanced with standard front and rear locking differentials on all variants. The front differential is a modified version of the one found in the Bronco Raptor, updated for enhanced load capacity. "We’ve put the Ranger Super Duty through demanding off-road tests that typically stop vehicles with only open differentials," says O’Shannassy. "But thanks to its locking differentials, enhanced low-range gearset, and a host of other off-road improvements, the Ranger Super Duty maintains traction and kept it moving through the tests."
The truck’s backbone is a reinforced frame built for durability and upfitting. It features stronger front and rear driveshafts compared to regular Ranger and a new heavy-duty rear axle with the biggest, strongest differential ever fitted to a production Ranger for enhanced load-carrying capacity. To help spread that load, it also gets robust eight-stud wheel hubs with larger bolts. The frame’s readily accessible mounting points make it easy to integrate a variety of aftermarket accessories and specialised equipment, meaning the Ranger Super Duty could arrive ready to work right from the factory.
Finally, the Ranger Super Duty raises the game for cab chassis buyers with its clever rear driver assistance technology bar. This integrated bar packages a comprehensive suite of advanced systems—including front and rear parking aids, a 360-degree camera, blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, and reverse brake assist with cross-traffic alert—giving owners safety and convenience features not previously available on Ranger cab-chassis variants.
"It really is the sum of all its parts, and we’re confident that whether your job takes you to remote trails or you’re an adventurer who likes to go a long way off the beaten track, Ranger Super Duty is engineered to help get you there and back,” O’Shannassy said.
How We Tested It: Pushed to the Absolute Limit
Developing a truck that could live a life doing the toughest jobs in demanding locations required an extensive durability program. "We torture test our trucks to earn the name Super Duty," said Sondra Sutton-Phung, general manager of global truck. To validate the Ranger Super Duty was ready for demanding work environment, engineers subjected it to a series of brutal and prolonged testing, including a mud-pack test.
“Mud is one of a truck’s greatest enemies,” explains Rob Hugo, product excellence and human factors supervisor at Ford Australia. “It can add significant weight, prevent airflow, and act as an insulator, causing components to heat up much quicker. It’s highly corrosive and can clog up fans and alternators, preventing them from running correctly.”
To replicate this threat, our team subjected the Ranger Super Duty to a multi-day durability program at Ford’s You Yangs Proving Ground, repeatedly driving it through a purpose-built mud course until it was carrying more than 600 kilograms3 of packed-on mud. This suffocating blanket is designed to find the breaking point of every component. “Our mud-pack testing is a key part of our ‘Built Ford Tough’ validation,” Hugo says. “So, for the Ranger Super Duty, we knew we had to turn it up to 11.”
Autonomous driving robots were used for 24/7 runs on Silver Creek, Ford Australia’s infamous test track that simulates driving down a rocky, dry riverbed, stressing the chassis, suspension and body mounts. “Our Silver Creek and autonomous driving robots were designed and developed in North America for the testing and development of the original F-Series Super Duty and have been a part of global Built Ford Tough testing ever since,” said Sutton-Phung. The truck also endured the usual gauntlet of durability tests, including corrosion baths, towing dynos, and punishing real-world off-roading.
To prove its water-wading capability, engineers targeted and achieved a depth of 850 millimetres4—50 millimetres more than the standard Ranger—validated in both controlled basins and during 27 consecutive crossings of Victoria’s Crooked River.
"The first crossing always gets your heart pumping," recalled Tim Postgate, vehicle integration engineer. "You've done all the maths, but there's something about driving into the water that makes engineering very real."
Testing for Ranger Super Duty wasn’t always typical of vehicle development. The team built a light-attack fire truck prototype. Loaded to nearly 4,500 kilograms (GVM), it was used to shadow fleet teams in real-world scenarios where it was driven on tracks that the crews typically couldn’t reach with their existing vehicles.
Other teams spent time on a remote cattle station doing the sort of farm work the station hands did every day, from carrying thousands of kilograms of fencing material to towing a heavy steel roller to flatten the station’s airstrip.
All this was done to fulfill our core promise: to deliver a vehicle that lets the people doing the toughest jobs do theirs.
A Quick Guide to Ranger Super Duty’s Smartest Features
The Ranger Super Duty is more than just muscle. A suite of intelligent features, accessed via the SYNC®5 4A screen or the off-road shortcut button, helps drivers manage heavy loads and navigate tough terrain with confidence.
What are Onboard Scales6? This feature helps you with payload management by providing an estimated measurement of the vehicle's current payload. Using sensors in the suspension, it gives you a live reading on the SYNC screen, helping you account for everything from cargo to passengers and accessories.
What is Smart Hitch7? Smart Hitch helps you estimate the tongue weight of a connected trailer to ensure it’s within the recommended range. This is critical for maintaining vehicle stability and ensuring a safe towing experience.
What is the Off-Road Shortcut Button? This physical button on the centre console is your command centre for off-road adventures. It provides instant access to the dedicated Off-Road screen on the SYNC5 display, where you can view driveline status, steering angle, vehicle pitch and roll, and control features like Trail Control.
What is Trail Control? Think of it as a low-speed, off-road cruise control. It lets you set and maintain a speed while the system manages acceleration and braking1. This helps you to focus entirely on steering through challenging obstacles.
What is Trail Turn Assist?1 This clever feature helps reduce your turning radius in tight off-road situations. When activated in 4H or 4L, it cleverly brakes the inside rear wheel, allowing the truck to pivot more tightly around a corner. It’s designed for slippery or loose surfaces, not paved roads.
Disclaimers
1 Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. May not operate at certain speeds, or in certain driving, road or weather conditions. See Owner’s Manual for more information.
2 Intended for off-road use only.
3 Exercise caution, drive responsibly, and adhere to local laws and regulation, prioritising safety and responsible off-road driving at all times. Prototype weighed before and after testing to determine weight of ‘packed mud’. Check the tyres, underbody, steering, suspension, exhaust system and radiator for damage or debris after driving in muddy environments and clean as needed. If you experience unusual vibration after driving in mud, slush, or similar conditions check the wheels for impacted materials. Remove the material as required.
4 Maximum water wading 850mm maintaining steady speed of 7km/h or less. Always consult the Owner's Manual before off-road driving, know your terrain and trail difficulty, and use appropriate safety gear. Do not attempt a water crossing if you are unsure of the water depth.
5 SYNC screen appearance and functionality may change over time due to software updates.
6 Onboard scales is not intended for trade measurement usage. The vehicle payload and hitch load measurements that display on the screen are estimated values and subject to a tolerance of +/-100 kg of the actual weight.
7 Smart Hitch is not intended for trade measurement usage. The vehicle payload and hitch load measurements that display on the screen are estimated values and subject to a tolerance of +/-100 kg of the actual weight.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The company offers freedom of choice through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough electric vehicles along with embedded software that defines always-on digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 171,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.
