Ken Block’s Hoonitruck
914bhp Hoonitruck will be the star of KB’s most ambitious tyre massacre to date: Gymkhana Ten
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we give you The Hoonitruck. It’s Ken Block’s latest company car, one that will play the lead role in the upcoming tenth instalment of Ken Block’s iconic Gymkhana series, handily dubbed, um, Gymkhana Ten.
Wanting to push the already well-pushed envelope a bit further, Ken decided to skip the Rallycross cars and demented methanol-chugging 1,400bhp Hoonicorns of the past and explore a different avenue for the big one-oh: a pickup truck. An old pickup truck. But not any old pickup truck.
Ken selected a 1977 Ford F-150 as a drifty tribute to his late father. Back when Ken was a wee nipper (no doubt trying to go sideways in his baby stroller) his dad had the same era of truck. One in which Ken later learned to drive and hone his hooning skills when his dad’s back was turned. As you can see, this is a far from stock Seventies pickup. It’s powered by a custom-tuned, turbocharged, Ford Performance V6 EcoBoost engine lifted directly out of Ford Racing’s GT Le Mans development programme. Power? Yep, it’s got it. Nearly four digits of the stuff (914bhp at 7,400rpm) and 702 ft lb of torque at 6,450rpm. We’re told it sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard in a Gymkhana video before. So, ear defenders at the ready. All that shove is sent to all four wheels via a Sadev 6spd ’box similar to the whip-crack one used in Block’s Hoonicorn.
Entrusted with building such a beast is the Detroit Speed shop based out of Mooresville, NC. They tweaked the chassis, bodywork and fabrication while the overall design and styling of the project was dictated by Block and his harem of petrolheads at Hoonigan HQ.
“This project has been in the works for about two years,” said Block. “I’m beyond pleased with how it turned out; it’s simply one of the most badass and unique vehicles I’ve seen in a long time and I think it complements my Hoonicorn perfectly. It’s also crazy to be throwing something around that’s this size when doing Gymkhanastyle driving. But it looks absolutely wild on camera, and that was our goal from the start. I can’t wait for the fans to be able to see it in action – I think they’re gonna love it!”
The release of Gymkhana Ten will be a bit different from all the others, and not just because it will feature five different cars, all 4WD Fords – two of which are new to Block, while the Hoonitruck is all-new from the ground up. Instead of going straight to YouTube, it’ll be released on Amazon Prime on 7 December. But if you don’t have a subscription, don’t worry. It’ll later be on Hoonigan’s YouTube channel on 17 December. A chance to give the techies at YouTube time to ice down the servers.