Ford Shows Off the 2017 F150 10-Speed Gauge Cluster

Ford Motor Company surprised the automotive world when they announced that the 2017 F150 would introduce their new 10-speed automatic transmission. It was first announced that the 2017 F150 Raptor would utilize a special version of the new 10-speed gearbox, but FoMoCo has since announced that all new F150 pickups with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 will featured this new automatic transmission. Ford hasn’t stated when the new 10-speed automatic transmission or the new Raptors will actually hit dealers, but the image above showing the gear indicator in the gauge cluster should be a hint to the pending arrival.

The Ford F150 10-Speed
The new 10-speed automatic transmission in the 2017 Ford F150 was developed in cooperation with General Motors and when it arrives, the F150 will be the first mass produced passenger vehicle in the US to have more than 9 speeds. This new gearbox will help to improve performance in every way while also improving fuel economy measures by a significant margin over similar EcoBoost trucks with the current 6-speed automatic.

This 10-speed automatic is the first transmission from Ford to be built without the use of cast iron, instead using aluminum and other high tech, lightweight materials inside and out. This makes the entire transmission lighter, but it also makes the moving parts inside lighter – reducing the amount of effort from the engine needed to turn the wheels while cutting pounds from the overall curb weight.

Next, the fact that this new gearbox has 10 speeds will afford the new 2017 F150 improved performance, improved working abilities and improved fuel economy numbers. The 8th, 9th and 10th speeds are all overdrive units, allowing the engine to run at a very low RPM while cruising at highway speeds. However, with those fuel-friendly higher gears, the numerically lower gears can be adjusted more aggressively for improved acceleration and improving pulling or hauling abilities. With the current 6-speed automatic transmission, there are 2 overdrive gears, but since there are “only” 4 gears before hitting overdrive, those numerically lower gears have to be less aggressive. On the other hand, the 1-6 gears of the 2017 F150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 will offer far better acceleration than the current gearbox while the “extra” gears will afford owners better fuel economy.

Finally, in addition to a towing mode that will adjust the shift schedule for better working abilities, the 2017 Ford F150 will have a Sport Mode which will improve the driving dynamics for those who like to go fast in their twin turbocharged pickup.

With this first image of the 10-speed gear indicator, it shouldn’t be long now before the 2017 F150 with the new transmission begins to arrive in dealerships around the USA.