Ford is reintroducing the F-150 with a few changes. The pickup truck for 2015 has been redesigned with power and efficiency in mind.
The pickup features a new body style as well as a smaller engine. The 2.7-liter turbo-charged V6 engine is made from a graphite iron block previously used by Ford in diesel engines. The graphite block is a first for Ford's gasoline engines.
According to reports, the F-150 will be branded with the EcoBoost label that Ford attaches to engines designed to improve fuel efficiency. The truck also features direct fuel injection, according to reports. A 3.5-liter pickup truck will also be introduced by the company in 2015.
Ford is using more aluminum in the body build, a move that improves the vehicle's power and efficiency. The twin-turbo pickup truck reportedly has 325 horsepower and 375 lbs/ft. torque. The 3.5-liter version has 283 hp. and 255 lbs/ft. of torque, which will be the standard F-150 that will go to market, the source notes.
The aluminum body helped shed 700 pounds from the F-150 pickup. The truck's power-to-weight ratio has been improved by about 15 percent, according to reports. The 2.7-liter provides a maximum payload capacity of around 2,250 pounds, while the 3.5-liter provides for just over 1,900 pounds by comparison.
Another source notes the F-150 EcoBoost 2.7-liter model has twice the horsepower, torque and towing capacity as the Toyota Tacoma, which also has a 2.7-liter engine. Also according to the source, Ford tested the 2.7-liter EcoBoost and found it to outperform the Ram 1500 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel as well as the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3-liter V8. The test was done towing a 7,000-pound trailer up an Arizona dam with each truck.
According to another source, Ford kept the testing of its new version of pickups a tight secret for a few years. Secret code-names and prototypes were reportedly used to keep the project under wraps. Ford reportedly tested its X1 pickups, which spawned from the F-150, in a Nevada mining area.
The X1 trucks had to be tested in extreme conditions, the company told the press, because they are implementing greater use of lighter-weight aluminum in the truck beds. Ford wanted to make sure the beds and the rest of the truck could hold up to demanding drivers' needs, particularly for those using the truck for work purposes. The company plans to release the X1 models in a couple of years.
