Gymkhana 10 is out today, and it’s only fair to take a look at one of the film’s stars: the 1977 Ford F-150 Hoonitruck. In a video from Hoonigan, the crew takes a look at the Hoonitruck, how it came to life, and the details behind the oily bits.
How did Block and crew come up with the idea of the Hoonitruck? Ken Block says the team wanted to apply what they learned from designing and helping to build the 1965 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn to a truck body. Block came from a Ford family, so naturally, an F-150 was on deck for transformation. He chose a 1977 F-150 because it’s the same model year truck his late father owned when he was a teenager. Block did some of his first amateur stunts in the truck, and the Hoonitruck is meant to pay homage.
Ken Block’s “Gymkhana 10” 1977 Ford F-150 Hoonitruck
Detroit Speed is the company that built the Hoonitruck. The company known for muscle car suspension parts had quite the task at hand. Chris Porter, project/technical lead manager at Detroit Speed joins Hoonigan to describe the Hoonitruck build.
The Hoonigan crew handed over its wish list, and Detroit Speed set to work to grant those wishes. Fun fact: the truck is a smidge over 79 inches wide, and most trailers measure 80 inches wide between the wheel wells. So, Detroit Speed decided the truck would be disassembled for transport and rebuilt on-location. In fact, the company made the Hoonitruck modular so parts of it could be rebuilt easily in case Ken would happen to hit anything during filming. The stunts in Gymkhana 10 may look perfect but they don’t always go that way on the first take.
Instead of a V-8 engine like the Mustang Hoonicorn, Block and Ford decided on a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine. The design is based on the Ford GT’s Daytona Prototype engine courtesy of Roush Racing and Ford Performance. Ford said it liked that it tied in some of the company’s newer technology. Although it’s down two cylinders, it still manages to make a stout 914 horsepower and 702 pound-feet of torque. Ford Performance 3D-printed an intake manifold for the truck to help it provide all that power. Those turbocharged horses head to all four wheels via a Sadev 6-speed transmission.
More than 24 minutes of inside knowledge on the Hoonitruck await in the video above.
