F-250 light? Trademark suggests Ford plotting Ranger Super Duty

An expansion of the Super Duty moniker above the F-Series has emerged as the next possible addition to the Ford Ranger line-up based on a newly uncovered trademark submission in the Philippines.

Below F-150

While anything but certain and either set to materialise or not all with the designation only submitted so as to prevent rival brands from using it in future, the introduction of a Ranger Super Duty will be a first for the nameplate since its debut as a standalone model from the F-150 in 1982.

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Used as a trim level before morphing into the Blue Oval’s replacement for the Mazda-based Courier in the United States in said year, the filing to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines took place on 1 March under the description “motor vehicles” and at the time of writing, remains open to approval.

According to the Ford Authority online forum, who uncovered the application over the weekend, the introduction of a Ranger Super Duty will help fill the gap between the standard Ranger and the F-150 by providing a smaller model below the existing range comprising the F-250, F-350 and F-450.

Bar Australia, where engineering Thai firm RMA Automotive had already started converting F-150s into right-hand-drive for said market and nowhere else, the F-150 remains left-hand-drive only whereas the Ranger offers the steering gear on either side depending on the country sold in.

Plus-sized towing and carrying

Although not assembled in the Philippines, Australia’s drive.com.au alleges the application filing in a right-hooking nation points to the Ranger Super Duty becoming a world model given production in other right-hand-drive nations such as Thailand and the Silverton plant outside Pretoria.

According to the publication, warranting the Super Duty name points an uptake in tow rating from the standard Ranger’s 3 500 kg and an increase payload as a result of revisions to the T6.2 platform and chassis.

At present, payload ranges from 964 kg to 1 186 kg in the Ranger single and SuperCab, while that of the double cab varies from 753 kg in the Raptor to a maximum of 1 063 kg.

XL Plus ‘returns’

The introduction of a heavy duty Ranger wearing the Super Duty name, while a global first as mentioned, won’t be new as a mining specific model, the XL Plus, debuted a decade ago based on the previous T6 generation for South Africa only.

Modelled on the XL trim level as its name points out, the double cab, four-wheel-drive only XL Plus featured a stronger frame, a second heavy-duty battery, vinyl floors, alloy side-steps and heavy-duty seat covers while retaining the XL’s specification sheet.

At the same time, it only offered the combination of the 2.2-litre Puma turbodiesel engine and six-speed manual gearbox, which could be omitted in the “new” Super Duty should the same strategy of workhorse and premium models as on the F-Series Super Duty be applied.

As such, expect Super Duty derivatives of not only the XL, but also the XLT and possibly even the Wildtrak should production approval be given.

For the time being, no further details are known.

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