What Ford Truck Has the Most Horsepower

Picking out a good Ford truck can be difficult. There are so many to choose from, and they all have different purposes and unique designs. Variations in designs may include material, size, and horsepower.

The 2022 Super Duty F-450 has the most horsepower among Ford trucks. All models of this truck have the same horsepower at 475 and have a towing capacity of 21,200 to 24,200 pounds. Meanwhile, all 2022 Super Duty F-250 and F-350 models have 385-475 horsepower but tow less than the F-450. 

Below, we’ll go into what horsepower is and why it matters. We’ll also look at the various Ford trucks to compare their horsepower and towing capacities.

What is Horsepower?

Horsepower is a measurement of power that tells you how long it takes to do a certain amount of work. Currently, the measurement of horsepower is that 1 horsepower moves 550 pounds 1 foot forward in 1 second. If you prefer to measure horsepower in minutes, 1 horsepower can move 33,000 pounds 1 foot in 1 minute.

With this measurement in mind, the average truck needs about 200 to 300 horsepower. Why is so much horsepower required? Not only are you moving a very large, heavy vehicle, but trucks are often used to transport plenty of heavy cargo. Whether this cargo is in the truck bed or attached to the hitch, the truck needs the extra power to move it forward.

Where did Horsepower Come From?

The origins of the term horsepower is an interesting story. In 1776, James Watt, the inventor of the Watt Steam Engine, was trying to come up with a marketing strategy to sell his invention. 

He wanted to show how powerful his steam engine was compared to other steam engines at the time. At one point, while observing mill horses at work he began calculating how much heavy lifting they were doing in the time it took them to turn the shaft of a mill completely. 

Eventually, he calculated that one horse did 33,000 foot-pounds of work in about one minute. He labeled this amount of work as horsepower.

He then used this information to determine how much horsepower his steam engine required to work. This helped market his steam engine as the better choice for trains and over time this form of measurement became common use when determining the power and strength of various engines.

Ford Trucks

Let us do a little comparison between all the types of Ford Trucks. We’ll look at each truck and its models, its horsepower, and its towing capacity.

Truck	Model	Horsepower	Towing Capacity (lbs)
2021 Ranger	ALL*	270	3,500
2021 F-150	XL and XLT	250-430	5,000-9,400
2021 F-150	Lariat	250-430	7,600-9,400
2021 F-150	King Ranch and Platinum	250-430	9,300-9,700
2021 F-150	Limited	400-430	11,200-11,300
2021 F-150	Tremor	400	10,900
2021 F-150	Raptor	450	8,200
2022 Super Duty	F-250 XL and Limited	385-475	12,300-15,000
2022 Super Duty	F-350 XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum F-250 XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum	385-475	12,000-13,100
2022 Super Duty	F-450 XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited	475	21,200-24,200
2022 Super Duty	F-350 Limited	475	20,000
2022 F-150 Lightning	N/A	426	10,000
2022 Maverick	XL, XLT, Lariat,	191-250	2,000
2022 Maverick	Lariat First Edition	250	4,000

To improve the towing capacity of your truck, you will need to purchase a special trailer towing package. For example, with the right equipment, the 2022 Super Duty can tow up to 37,000 pounds. That is an additional 12,800 pounds of power!

It might surprise you to learn that Ford considers their Transit wagons a part their truck family. Since the Transit does not meet the traditional requirements of being a truck, they are listed in a separate chart. 

Truck	Model	Amount of Horsepower	Towing Capacity (lbs)
2022 Transit Connect Passenger Wagon	XL, XLT, and Titanium	162	2,000
2021 Transit	150 XL	275	4,400-4,600
2021 Transit	350 XL	275-310	3,300-4,200
2021 Transit	150 XLT	275-310	4,400-4,600
2021 Transit	350 XLT	275-310	3,300-4,200

The Winners

First Place

Based on the first chart alone, we can conclude that all models of the 2022 Super Duty F-450 (XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited) has the best horsepower and towing capacity. Its engine is powerful enough to take on the heavy truck, as well as what it holds in the bed and tows behind it. This means it can definitely tow a big trailer camper as well as anything else you wanted to bring on the trip, without overdoing it for the truck. This vehicle is perfect for going out on adventures.

Runners Up

As you can imagine the runner-up for the Ford trucks with the most horsepower are the 2022 Super Duty F-250 and F-350 models (XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited trim packages). All of these could reach 475 in horsepower, but some had horsepower closer to 385. 

Based on these numbers, we rank the 2022 Ford Super Duty F-350 Limited as the truck with the second most horsepower. This truck has a towing capacity of 20,000 pounds. Meanwhile, the rest of the 2022 Super Duty Models had just 12,000-15,000 pounds of towing capacity. 

Transit Winners

Although Ford considers the Transit a part of their truck family, neither of their models can compare to the amount of horsepower in the 2022 Super Duties. In fact, Ford Transits have 150 less horsepower than these trucks.

Additionally, they have a poor towing capacity, stuck in the early thousands; meanwhile, the 2022 Super Duty has 24,2000 pounds of towing capacity. However, between the two types of Transit trucks and their sub-models, the 2021 Transit XLT has the most horsepower. It can reach up to 310 horsepower and has a towing capacity between 4,400 and 4,600 pounds.

Overall, the 2022 Super Duty F-450 is the Ford truck with the most amount of horsepower, but the other trucks in Ford’s lineup don’t fall far behind it when it comes to horsepower. If the amount of horsepower of your truck matters, consider purchasing a Ford truck.