Sometimes an excellent bad idea and motorsports come together in a gloriously tiny package. That’s how we’d describe these Hayabusa-powered mini pickups which were selected by Hoonigan to engage in a down and dirty drag race.
Watch two built off-road trucks in a nail-biting race.
This is the sort of thing that doesn’t really make any sense. After all, these trucks have been built for speed, yes, but they usually run on dirt tracks with plenty of tight turns. They’re not drag racers by any stretch of the imagination, and yet here they are running on a paved drag strip.
And why not?
One truck is running two Hayabusa engines, because why not? The owner says they combine for 420-horspower of total output, which in monstrous for such a little, lightweight vehicle weighing less than 1,300 lbs.
That setup makes for a bit of a more complicated drivetrain. The guy says if you don’t shift hard you can miss gears. Considering he uses it in motorsports, we don’t see any problem with that.
The other truck is more like a dune buggy. It’s simpler, has one Hayabusa engine which hasn’t been boosted to crazy power figures, and weighs less. While the other truck is wearing regulation tires, which sport a pretty good tread, the owner of this truck mounted a pair of slicks in the rear.
In other words, these two vehicles incorporate two different approaches to the same goal: getting down the drag strip as quickly as possible. The big question is which one will end up winning out and which will be the big loser?
Right up front, it doesn’t seem entirely clear. While we know making lots of power can be cool, that doesn’t always translate into quicker acceleration. After all, the second truck weighs about half as much as the first. Plus, the owner of the two-engine truck admits it pops wheelies, making for a challenge keeping it going straight.
Watch the video and see which truck wins.
Image via Hoonigan/YouTube