Image via Petersen Automotive Museum/YouTube
The legacy of Ken Block continues to live on, including his many wild builds like the Hoonitruck. Built as a Gymkhana 10 ride, many remember watching the late rally driver and founder of Hoonigan smoke the tires on this 1977 Ford F-150 that’s now at the Petersen Automotive Museum on loan from the current owner.
Volvo wagon crashes into a Ferrari F40.
To help people understand the story behind the truck, the museum had Ron Zaras, who was a friend of Block’s and worked for Hoonigan, to dig into the build. Not surprisingly, he divulges the thing is mostly not factory original but instead is a purpose-built vehicle for drifting and looking great on camera.
What we didn’t know, or did and forgot, was that Block selected the ’77 Ford F-150 to build into his next Gymkhana vehicle for a dual purpose. First, Hoonigan was working with Ford at the time, so you’ll notice the builds were all Fords with the Blue Oval badge prominently displayed.
But the personal reason was block’s dad drove one back in the day, so it was a kind of tribute to the man who helped make him what he was. While Ford wanted Hoonigan to modify a new F-150, Block wanted to honor his father, and he won.
The build is crazy, using a development version of the Ford GT supercar’s twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. You can see the snails climbing out of the hood, but so is the intake manifold, with a cover that was apparently 3D printed out of aluminum, something super high tech back in the day.
Building a big pickup that could drift was no easy task, which is partly why the F-150 is so heavily modified. Just the fact Hoonigan could build such a vehicle and Block handled it with amazing precision is a testament to why he was so respected.
We don’t know who the current owner of the Hoonitruck is, but the person was generous enough to lend it to the Petersen Automotive Museum for its current exhibition on Ken Block and his legacy. Block’s late wife and oldest daughter tried to buy it at auction but failed, losing out the mysterious new owner.
Watch the video of the Hoonitruck put together by the Petersen Automotive Museum here.
Image via Petersen Automotive Museum/YouTube
