Feature
Plum Locomotive: Ford F-250 Super Chief Concept
Some elements of this V10-powered silver streak are ready to leave the station
A conductor calling "All aboard" would have been completely appropriate as we took the huge step up into the Ford F-250 Super Chief concept truck, a design study created by a team headed by Ford North American Design Director Peter Horbury. Inspired by the Super Chief train first run by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1936, everything about Ford's version is massive, powerful, elegant and distinctively American.
A bit of history in the making
Understanding a bit more about the original Super Chief puts Ford's star of the 2006 auto show circuit in perspective. The original locomotive's streamlined profile was formed of steel and aluminum. The engines were so powerful that 2,200-mile trips from Chicago to Los Angeles were dispatched in fewer than 40 hours, a feat made possible by extended sections run at over 100 mph. Fitted with opulently crafted cars by The Pullman Palace Car Company, top-notch food and excellent service were hallmarks of what became known as "The Train of the Stars" thanks to the line's popularity with the Hollywood crowd.
Dressed for the part
At Ford's Dearborn Proving Grounds, the massive Super Chief concept truck looked ready to run the rails. A steam engine's long whistle coming from the adjacent Henry Ford Greenfield Village Museum seemed completely appropriate. Looking considerably larger than any light-duty truck has a right to, the Super Chief shares its 172.4-inch wheelbase with an F-250 Crew Cab with an 8-foot bed. Its width is 95.5 inches, spot-on for an F-250 with dual rear wheels.
The truck's three-bar grille shows another interpretation of what is becoming a design cue for the Blue Oval. (See how Ford uses the design in production on the Ford Fusion.) Something akin to this grille should front Ford's next rework of its F-150, due in 2008.
Streamlining inspired by the high-speed, art deco locomotives of the 1930s is clearly evident, and highlighted with the unbroken beltline that runs the truck's entire length. A stepped hood with a powerfully raised center section flows into the cab's long, low roof line. The walnut-lined 6-foot bed finishes off the truck's design. At the rear, there is no caboose, just a double-hinged tailgate that swings wide, providing access to the wood-lined bed from either side.
The truck stands tall and proud on 24-inch aluminum rims, but its clean shape doesn't include running boards. As with a train at the station, a boarding platform would have been welcomed — you literally climb up into the Super Chief's spacious cab.
Art deco interior
The clean interior design integrates all the expected modern controls, and continues the art deco-inspired theme evoked outside. Inside, the warmth and elegance of genuine leather and a veritable forest of dovetailed wood panels envelops you. Somehow, the rich natural colors make this massive truck seem cozy when the enormous center-opening doors click shut.
According to the Super Chief interior team's lead designer, Michael Arbaugh, "We designed this truck from the backseat out. The rear-seating area was to be like a club car of an elegant train." Exquisite auburn leather complements the richly stained American walnut that is found on the floor, doors, dash and ceiling trim. The coffered trim frames a full-length glass roof reminiscent of railroad observation cars.
Locomotive power (almost)
Under the forward-opening hood rests a sleeping giant — a tri-fuel-capable V10 displacing 6.8 liters. What's "tri-fuel"? Check this out: Like some 1.6 million ethanol-gasoline-powered Fords already on the road, this V10 eagerly gulps down gasoline or E85 ethanol. However, the supercharger that tops the Super Chief's 30-valve aluminum heads and intake spools up only when the fuel supply switches to clean-burning hydrogen. A multiple-storage-tank setup under the truck's bed provides a claimed range of nearly 500 miles running on hydrogen. Running on E85 and gasoline, the V10 produces 310 horsepower, with torque coming in at 425 pound-feet. Power drops when running on hydrogen, but the supercharger keeps the torque rating at 400.
The Super Chief's V10 comes to life with the press of a button. According to our onboard engineer, we were running on pure gasoline during our drive. The bark of the exhaust didn't even attempt to mask the V10's potential. A serious "easy does it" look from the engineer helped quell any ambitions we had for building up a serious head of steam. (No letters please, we know the original Super Chief locomotives were diesels built by Electro-Motive.)
We eased the huge shifter into gear and let our hands get used to the smooth wood steering wheel. The hand-built-for-show reality of the Super Chief — and the cricket on my shoulder reminding me that wrecking a gazillion-dollar show car is a one-way ticket out of automotive journalism — kept our speeds to neighborhood velocities. But ample time behind the wheel made it clear that the interior is a keeper. Visibility and control placement were excellent.
The train of the future
As for what the Super Chief portends, it's all about style and technology. As spy photos of the 2008 F-Series become available, we'll see how Peter Horbury's crew migrates its conceptual drawings to production tooling. And while the integration of some Super Chief styling cues is a near-term certainty, it will take longer to see the hydrogen powertrains. However, hydrogen-fired engines are on the way. Just put your ear to the track and listen.
A bit of history in the making
Understanding a bit more about the original Super Chief puts Ford's star of the 2006 auto show circuit in perspective. The original locomotive's streamlined profile was formed of steel and aluminum. The engines were so powerful that 2,200-mile trips from Chicago to Los Angeles were dispatched in fewer than 40 hours, a feat made possible by extended sections run at over 100 mph. Fitted with opulently crafted cars by The Pullman Palace Car Company, top-notch food and excellent service were hallmarks of what became known as "The Train of the Stars" thanks to the line's popularity with the Hollywood crowd.
Dressed for the part
At Ford's Dearborn Proving Grounds, the massive Super Chief concept truck looked ready to run the rails. A steam engine's long whistle coming from the adjacent Henry Ford Greenfield Village Museum seemed completely appropriate. Looking considerably larger than any light-duty truck has a right to, the Super Chief shares its 172.4-inch wheelbase with an F-250 Crew Cab with an 8-foot bed. Its width is 95.5 inches, spot-on for an F-250 with dual rear wheels.
The truck's three-bar grille shows another interpretation of what is becoming a design cue for the Blue Oval. (See how Ford uses the design in production on the Ford Fusion.) Something akin to this grille should front Ford's next rework of its F-150, due in 2008.
Streamlining inspired by the high-speed, art deco locomotives of the 1930s is clearly evident, and highlighted with the unbroken beltline that runs the truck's entire length. A stepped hood with a powerfully raised center section flows into the cab's long, low roof line. The walnut-lined 6-foot bed finishes off the truck's design. At the rear, there is no caboose, just a double-hinged tailgate that swings wide, providing access to the wood-lined bed from either side.
The truck stands tall and proud on 24-inch aluminum rims, but its clean shape doesn't include running boards. As with a train at the station, a boarding platform would have been welcomed — you literally climb up into the Super Chief's spacious cab.
Art deco interior
The clean interior design integrates all the expected modern controls, and continues the art deco-inspired theme evoked outside. Inside, the warmth and elegance of genuine leather and a veritable forest of dovetailed wood panels envelops you. Somehow, the rich natural colors make this massive truck seem cozy when the enormous center-opening doors click shut.
According to the Super Chief interior team's lead designer, Michael Arbaugh, "We designed this truck from the backseat out. The rear-seating area was to be like a club car of an elegant train." Exquisite auburn leather complements the richly stained American walnut that is found on the floor, doors, dash and ceiling trim. The coffered trim frames a full-length glass roof reminiscent of railroad observation cars.
Locomotive power (almost)
Under the forward-opening hood rests a sleeping giant — a tri-fuel-capable V10 displacing 6.8 liters. What's "tri-fuel"? Check this out: Like some 1.6 million ethanol-gasoline-powered Fords already on the road, this V10 eagerly gulps down gasoline or E85 ethanol. However, the supercharger that tops the Super Chief's 30-valve aluminum heads and intake spools up only when the fuel supply switches to clean-burning hydrogen. A multiple-storage-tank setup under the truck's bed provides a claimed range of nearly 500 miles running on hydrogen. Running on E85 and gasoline, the V10 produces 310 horsepower, with torque coming in at 425 pound-feet. Power drops when running on hydrogen, but the supercharger keeps the torque rating at 400.
The Super Chief's V10 comes to life with the press of a button. According to our onboard engineer, we were running on pure gasoline during our drive. The bark of the exhaust didn't even attempt to mask the V10's potential. A serious "easy does it" look from the engineer helped quell any ambitions we had for building up a serious head of steam. (No letters please, we know the original Super Chief locomotives were diesels built by Electro-Motive.)
We eased the huge shifter into gear and let our hands get used to the smooth wood steering wheel. The hand-built-for-show reality of the Super Chief — and the cricket on my shoulder reminding me that wrecking a gazillion-dollar show car is a one-way ticket out of automotive journalism — kept our speeds to neighborhood velocities. But ample time behind the wheel made it clear that the interior is a keeper. Visibility and control placement were excellent.
The train of the future
As for what the Super Chief portends, it's all about style and technology. As spy photos of the 2008 F-Series become available, we'll see how Peter Horbury's crew migrates its conceptual drawings to production tooling. And while the integration of some Super Chief styling cues is a near-term certainty, it will take longer to see the hydrogen powertrains. However, hydrogen-fired engines are on the way. Just put your ear to the track and listen.
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