It's big, it's bold, it's scary. It’s a hint of what’s to come for the
next generation Ford F-Series pickup – America’s best-selling vehicle for 20
years running and best-selling truck for the past 25 years. It’s the enormous
"Ford Mighty F-350 TONKA", a vibrant yellow and chrome concept pickup.
For more than 50 years, TONKA – which means "great" in Sioux –
has been synonymous with big yellow durable toys for kids around the world. Now,
the Mighty F-350 TONKA concept brings together the playfulness of the legendary
child’s toy with the subtle marketing of Ford.
This of course is no toy as anyone who comes into contact (literally) with
one will find out. Here at PH HQ, we're praying that such a ludicrous vehicle
will sink any ship that intends to export the mammoth outside of the US.
Dual rear wheels with 22-inch rims and custom Goodyear tyres and a shortened,
six-foot open bed give the Mighty F-350 a 'refined ruggedness' designed with the
truck enthusiast or power crazy psycho in mind.
The vehicle’s Power Stroke Diesel Super-600 diesel V-8 engine is teamed
with the five-speed PowerTorq transmission, marking in Ford’s first
application of a five-speed automatic with a diesel engine. The 6.0-litre,
32-valve, turbocharged V-8 concept engine concept is rated at 350 horsepower and
delivers up to 600 foot-pounds of torque when teamed with the PowerTorq
automatic.
The truck’s vehicle’s air suspension – with sophisticated air springs
replacing the conventional rear leaf and front coil springs – enables a
"kneeling" function to ease entry and exit and assists in loading the
truck bed. As the doors are opened, the gargantuan F-350 lowers five inches and
the running boards deploy. The truck reverts to its raised position once the
doors are closed.
A camera-operated lane departure warning system helps keep the driver alert
by emitting a soft audible sound signal if the vehicle unintentionally drifts
outside of the lane. Additional cameras mounted within the bed help the driver
monitor truck-to-trailer coupling, as well as reversing.
The F-350 TONKA concept also marks the debut of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
in headlamp application, introducing new opportunities for advanced lighting
technology. High intensity LED lights are featured prominently throughout the
vehicle’s interior and exterior: in low beam and fog lamps and in all of the
signal lights, including rear combination lamps, the centre high-mounted stop
light, front indicators and marker lights.
This advanced lighting technology can deliver better distributedbetter-distributed
illumination on the road than conventional halogen lights, as well as providing
a means to reduce electrical power and emissions. While halogen bulbs take a
fraction of a second to respond to an electrical input, LEDs respond instantly,
giving fractions of a second more warning time to fellow motorists that there's
an enormous yellow truck in front of them.
LEDs also are very efficient, using up to 50 percent less electricity than
halogen lights. With thinner packaging than conventional lights, LEDs offer
weight savings, create new possibilities for signature lighting, and allow for
more flexibility in design.
1 / 2