Are fastback pickups the next big thing? Not long after CarBuzz found three different patents for a fastback truck from Ram, the CarBuzz research team has now found one from Ford. It blows Ram’s out of the water with extras like a rear window.
Plus, it has automatic actuation to help maximize aerodynamics.
Automatic Cover Turns Your Truck Into A Fastback
Ford Tonneau PatentFord
Plenty of pickup truck owners want their truck’s bed to be enclosed, not open. A tonneau cover is the usual go-to, and there is no shortage of options, ranging from one-piece hard covers to roll-up fabric and almost anything in between.
Ford’s new patent describes a seriously complicated cover. It starts out flat but ends up acting like a fastback, with the window raised so you can still see out of the back of the truck.
A main section of the cover would be able to be raised up where the truck bed meets the cab. It would be hinged at the rear, so when the cover is fully raised, it meets the roof of the cab at the front of the bed and the top of the tailgate at the back.
Folding panels along the sides of the cover would unfold when the cover was raised, filling in the gap along the edges of the bed. The result would be an enclosed wedge-shaped bed topper that would help improve aero efficiency and use less fuel on the highway.
This would be a big and heavy cover even before Ford’s engineers added the composite panel rear window, so it would need some help to open and close. Power actuators and struts, like the ones in your SUV’s power hatch, would raise the rear of the cover to let you get cargo stored back there.
Are Fancy Covers The Next Trick Tailgates?
2025 Ford F-150 Bed Separator and Tailgate DoorFord
It’s tough to tell from the patent what would happen with the empty space in the middle. The panel that rises at speed, like the spoiler on the back of a Porsche, sits on top of a larger solid piece.
The ability to lock the panel in the up position and access that mini-trunk space would be great for daily use, but it’s not part of the patent. Probably to stop you from leaving cargo in there and breaking the mechanism.
In June, CarBuzz found multiple patents from Stellantis showing wedge covers for Ram trucks. One of those was an even more elaborate cover that could turn into an aero wedge like this one, but could also raise at both ends to become a full bed topper on demand. The other is just a single hard panel that moves.
Truck builders are incredibly competitive when it comes to features and capability. Could this deluge of fuel-saving yet functional tonneau covers become the next battleground after torque and towing capacity?
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Ford F150 Powerboost badgeFord
Buyers don’t expect great fuel economy from pickups, but (at least for now) there are still rules that push automakers to improve. It’s not clear how much fuel an invention like these covers could save, but if automakers are looking at fixes that are this elaborate, complex, and likely expensive, it must be significant.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: US Patent & Trademark Office
