Ford F250 Super Chief

The Ford F250 Super Chief concept takes truck leadership to a new level - as the world's first vehicle with Tri-Flex fueling, enabling the supercharged V-10 to run for 500 miles between fill-ups on hydrogen, E85 ethanol or gasoline.
The tri-fuel flexibility is one possible innovation by Ford to help pave the way for hydrogen vehicles, as the nation's ethanol and hydrogen fueling infrastructure continues to develop.
Super Chief is Ford's most advanced pickup ever - designed to build on the standard for interior excellence established by the F150. Super Chief features an interior paneled in walnut, brushed aluminium and bold brown leather. Convenience features include bold light-emitting diode (LED) headlamps, a full glass roof and automated ottoman.
The world's first Tri-Flex engine employs hydrogen, gasoline or E85 fuel.\\Hydrogen is the ultimate clean fuel of the future. It is not only the cleanest fuel, it is the most abundant element on Earth. E85 ethanol is a domestic, renewable, greenhouse gas-friendly fuel.

"The Tri-Flex fuel engine encourages the development of the hydrogen fuel infrastructure for the best future mobility solution," says Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, vice president, Research and Advanced Engineering. "It also drives the expansion of the domestic ethanol E85 fuel production and of course, provides our customers the convenience of gasoline until these other fuels become more readily available."
The Tri-Flex system leverages existing powertrain technologies. Since 1996, Ford has led in production and sales of flex-fuel E85 ethanol/gasoline vehicles. Ford has built more than 1.6 million flex-fuel vehicles that operate on any mix of E85 and gasoline. Running on hydrogen, the supercharged V10 engine provides up to 12 percent fuel economy improvement on an energy equivalent basis versus a non-supercharged gasoline V10 - and nearly 500 miles per fill-up. In addition, when operating on hydrogen, the Tri-Flex V10 generates 99 percent less CO2 emissions than when running on gasoline.

The transition from hydrogen fuel power to either E85 or gasoline is handled seamlessly through a dashboard mounted switch and can occur while the vehicle is in operation. Transition from either E85 or gasoline to hydrogen requires that the vehicle be at idle to allow for proper engagement of the supercharger, which only operates when the vehicle is powered by hydrogen.
The Ford F250 Super Chief concept projects the next level of rugged elegance for full size pickups, further stretching the world famous F-Series lineup past the F250 Super Crew and F250 King Ranch.
"Ford has been the truck leader for so long, no one can remember it being any other way," says J. Mays, group vice president, Design, and chief creative officer. "The F250 Super Chief boldly restates our leadership with a quintessentially American truck."
The F250 Super Chief's locomotive-inspired front end appearance sets the tone, complemented by its bold, imposing grille. The pattern of the headlamps echoes the motif of the interior's
coffered ceiling, with five-element/four-emitter LEDs behind the optics.
Below the headlamps, sturdy tow hooks are integrated into the fog lamps for a multi-functional look.
Even more pronounced from the profile is the truck's substantial cabin. Based on an F250 Super Duty with an 8 foot long bed, F250 Super Chief designers re-allocated 2 feet of bed space for the passenger compartment, which is accessible through centre opening doors.

The F250 Super Chief's rear doors can be opened independently of its front doors. An electronic release first extends the rear three-pivot hinges out and slides them back slightly to open the rear doors; an electronic motor pulls them closed. Expressive details add beauty as well as functionality. The sculpted cowling serves as an air intake for the V10 engine, while pronounced vents exhaust heat from the engine bay. Pronounced flares house the truck's 24-inch wheels, and Goodyear tyres firmly plant the truck on the ground.
In the rear, the tailgate hinges on both sides for greater utility. Inside the bed, a wood-planked bed floor is ribbed with raised metal rub strips for easy cargo loading. In addition, there's an under-bed storage tray, which can be accessed even when the cargo bed is full.

The entire roof of the F250 Super Chief is glass, bisected by a leather-wrapped grid of American walnut, allowing vista views. The walnut, outlined in aluminium, lines the truck's floors as well, carrying through the design execution of the pickup bed. Viewed from above, through the glass roof, the floor is smooth and integrated from cabin to the bed.
Rear seats allow for relaxation aided by ottomans that deploy from the floor space.The seats have separate cushions for the seat bottoms and the backs, as well as individual integrated armrests that are not part of the rear door panels.