Ford Ranger Super Duty coming in 2026
Ford Australia has revealed it will launch a Super Duty version of its hugely popular Ford Ranger ute in 2026, featuring heavy-duty suspension, a 4500kg towing capacity, and additional under-body armour.
Orders will open later this year, with arrivals in dealerships expected in early 2026. The Ranger Super Duty will be offered in single, super, or double cab chassis body styles, plus, from mid-2026, as a double cab with style-side box.
It will come in just two trim levels: Ranger Super Duty and Ranger Super Duty XLT (arriving mid-2026).
Developed in co-operation with fleet managers
Blue Oval executives said the Ranger Super Duty was developed in response to feedback from fleet managers working in the most arduous industries, such as mining and forestry, where the ability to survive off-road driving while carrying a large payload is paramount.
“Early insights for this project came from meeting with fleet managers, and that really highlighted that there was a gap in market,” explained Todd Willing, head of design at Ford. “Our teams met with over 50 companies and public services, really understanding their needs, spending time to arrive at a deep insight, and essentially living the life of our customers. So, in sense, our team became commercial truck anthropologists.”
Ford’s VP of advanced product development and planning, Jim Baumbic, added: “We looked for the toughest vocational jobs – mining, forestry, emergency services, energy services. We did ride-alongs with customers. We studied how they used their trucks, and we saw tonnes of ways to improve the way they did their work.”
Ford Ranger Super Duty enhancements
Compared to the standard Ranger, the Super Duty has a wider track, thicker chassis frame, reinforced suspension mounts, box mount brackets, and tow bar mounts, stronger front and rear driveshafts, the largest rear differential ever fitted to a production Ranger, and eight-stud wheel hubs with larger bolts.
These enhancements allow for a braked towing capacity of up to 4500kg, a gross vehicle mass of 4500kg, and an 8000kg gross combined mass.
These figures are not coincidental – Ford’s aim was to design a vehicle with the maximum payload allowable on a regular car licence.
The engine, transmission, fuel tank and front diff and transfer case are all covered with high-strength steel bash plates.
Other upgrades over the regular Ranger include on-board scales (sensors on all four wheels give an indication of payload, although readings are not legally admissible), a sealed snorkel, heavy-duty axles, and a recalibrated integrated trailer brake controller with Ford’s ‘Pro-Trailer Backup Assist’ technology (which takes the brain power out of reversing with a trailer). It also has ‘Smart Hitch’, which indicates weight on the towball and offers a guide to the best load distribution in the trailer to avoid under- or overloading the ball.
What's under the Ford Ranger Super Duty hood?
The Super Duty will run a version of Ford’s 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine calibrated for heavy-duty emissions standards and with an improved cooling system to help it cope with prolonged off-roading. A larger 130-litre fuel tank is standard to increase the Super Duty’s range.
On offer are six selectable drive modes – Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Mud/Ruts, Sand and Rock Crawl – and the Super Duty operates with full-time 4WD.
“The Ranger Super Duty’s two-speed transfer case features larger, stronger components than other Ranger variants for enhanced durability,” said Dave Burn, chief program engineer, Ford Australia. “To ensure this truck can handle life in low-range in extreme terrain, the low-range gearset has been upgraded to match the F-Series Super Duty.”
As well as slotting in between the regular Ranger and Ford’s F-Series pickup truck range, the Super Duty is designed to be a ‘straight out of the box’ off-road ute with all the usual after-market add-ons already included, so that it can be customised to a specific job.
"More hay in the tray"
Ford vehicles have not been renowned for reliability in recent years, but Ford execs told media they had put the Super Duty through brutal testing during the development and were confident it would stand up to rough treatment.
In addition to rugged industries, Ford expects custom from farmers – “more hay in the tray” – and road trippers looking to tow their caravans into the remotest reaches of the Australian outback.
Ford Australia announced the Super Duty as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations at the Melbourne Showgrounds, putting a number of Ranger Super Duty prototypes on display alongside Fords manufactured over the past century.
