Sometimes our spy photographers get more than they bargained for while shooting photos of secretive future models. Such is the case with this heavily camouflaged 2016 Ford F-series Super Duty pickup truck, which caught fire right before our man’s lens. We’re assured that the engineers inside escaped harm, pulling over and hopping out of the truck before it burned to the ground, exploding several times in the process.
It is at this point that we should point out that the 2016 Super Duty will not, in fact, be joining the supercar ranks of Ferrari or Lamborghini as Acura recently did when one of its NSX prototypes self-immolated at the Nürburgring. Even though such high-performance machinery tends toward the flammable and the Ford will use an exotic (for a pickup) all-aluminum body, the guys in Maranello or Sant’Agata needn’t be concerned with a big, lumbering truck. They should be jealous, however, of the spectacular quality of the pickup’s destruction; that huge shower of Death Star–style sparks is incredible, and likely indicates a healthy dose of magnesium in the next Super Duty’s materials mix. This makes sense, as Ford is said to be the auto world’s largest user of magnesium, and has used the metal in the steering systems and radiators of previous F-series models.
- 2015 Ford F-250 Super Duty Diesel Driven: Reasonably Light on Its Feet
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- Ford F-series Super Duty Research: Full Pricing, Specs, Reviews, and More
Ford just refreshed the Super Duty for 2015, but it still sits on the outgoing truck’s platform and continues to use a steel body. The 2016 version, however, will get aluminum panels and a full redesign, as did the light-duty 2015 F-150. The Super Duty likely will carry over its gas and diesel powertrain offerings—the 6.7-liter PowerStroke diesel was just massively updated—and use a steel chassis. In fact, the chassis and the engine block were the only recognizable post-fire remnants, as the body melted down into, our shooter says, blobs of aluminum.
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