#2020FordSuperDuty

It’ll not have escaped your notice that the pickup truck segment is a murderously competitive arena. In fact, if it were an actual arena, it would be much like the Roman Coliseum — or at least the upcoming 49er/Chiefs tilt in Miami — with bodies strewn across the playing field and the crowd roaring for more.

This helps explain why the Detroit Three are intent on beating each other over the head with towing and torque numbers that have climbed to dizzying heights. For 2020, Ford has unleashed a Super Duty pickup with available four-figure torque or a monster V8 the size of which hasn’t been produced by Motown in decades.

Ford’s next-generation Super Duty line saw the light of day Tuesday, with similar (but not blinding) light shed on the automaker’s new 7.3-liter gasoline V8 — a pushrod mill that replaces the old 6.8-liter V10 in Ford’s engine roster.

For 2020, the F-250, F-350, and F-450 don upscale skins, refined faces, and revamped interiors stocked with added content, though it’s what’s beneath the hood that has everyone talking. In addition to the 7.3-liter, there’s a new 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel on board, mated, like its gasoline stablemate, to a new 10-speed automatic.

Is Ford about to wrestle the torque crown away from Ram?