Published: Sep 27, 2012

Ford Debuts New F-150 King Ranch in Texas

Ford beats Ram and Chevy to the V6 towing title and unveils the new King Ranch F-150 at the Texas State Fair.

Texans love to say that everything is bigger and better in Texas. That extends to the the annual Texas State Fair, located in Dallas and dubbed the "Greatest State Fair in the World." While Iowans and their butter statues might take exception to that statement, the Lone Star State does have enough sense to host an auto show during the month-long festival. And by auto show, we mean trucks. Lots and lots of trucks. Each year automakers unveil their latest pickups at the fair, and the latest comes from Ford.

Ford Debuts New F-150 King Ranch in Texas

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The truck in question is the new 2013 Ford F-150 King Ranch, and with it comes a list of enhancements for the 3.7-liter V6-powered F-150. The King Ranch edition features what Ford calls "authentic western luxury and style." Potential customers may be more interested, however, in the truck's towing capacity rather than its Chaparral leather interior and all of its new assorted technology, though those are nice touches for the new model nonetheless. The F-150 King Ranch is available with a 5.0-liter V8 or 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, both coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox.

The latter carries the claim of best-in-class towing capacity with 11,300lbs. The king of pickups also features a two-tone color scheme, redesigned three-bar grille, optional HID headlights, chrome package and big 20-inch machined-aluminum wheels. The new King Ranch edition is only available in CrewCab, but buyters can choose between 5.5- or 6.5-foot-long beds and 4x2 or 4x4 configurations. The truck is named after a ranch that covers over 1,300 square miles of Texas land and is one of the largest ranches in the world. King Ranch has partnered with Ford for almost 12 years now, ever since they contributed to the 2001 King Ranch F-150 SuperCrew back in 2000.

"King Ranch is built on the heritage, hard work and innovation of seven generations of King family descendants and employees," notes Jamey Clement of King Ranch. "Just like what Ford has built into its F-Series pickup trucks."

Pricing for the new King Ranch starts at $44,510. In related news, Ford also announced the 2013 F-150's 3.7-liter V6 as the new class-leader in towing capacity, capable of pulling 6,700 lbs - 600 more than last year's model, 200 more than the new Ram 1500 and 1,300 more than Chevy's 4.3-liter V6-powered Silverado.