Ford F-250 Super Chief

The Super Chief’s headline feature was its tri-flex fueling setup, the first in a pickup. Developed for transitional-era fuel availability, it let the V10 or V8 engines run on gasoline, E85 ethanol, or compressed hydrogen without internal switching delays. The system was designed to reassure buyers wary of immature hydrogen and ethanol infrastructures.

Shown as a crew cab with lengthened suicide rear doors and a sealed bed cover, the truck wore brushed-aluminum trim, LED lighting, and a deeper stamped grille inspired by locomotives—hinting at the official Super Duty refresh two years later. The stock sprayed-in bed liner and lockable hard tonneau were presented as production-ready pieces.

Though never manufactured, the Super Chief previewed the 2008 Super Duty’s bolder design language and advancing ethanol compatibility across Ford’s heavy-duty line. Its hydrogen experiment informed Ford’s later work on commercial hydrogen tanks for the E-450 shuttle chassis, proving that a pickup—like a locomotive—could run on whatever the future pumps.