- Ken Block’s “Hoonitruck,” the wild ’77 Ford-based drift machine from the Gymkhana films, is going up for auction
- The pickup boasts 914 horses wrung out of a twin-turbo EcoBoost V6
- The last time it was put up for sale was in 2021, with a price tag then of US$1.1 million
The annual desert soirée that is Barrett-Jackson is always equal parts car show, collector-car auction, and over-the-top party surrounded by rare and exotic metal. This year, a custom pickup truck built by the late Ken Block and his Hoonigan team for its “Gymkhana” series of videos will go under the hammer.
Nicknamed the “Hoonitruck”, this machine started life as a 1977 Ford F-Series, but now has as much in common with the factory pickup as your author has with John Cena. We’re both humanoids, and that’s about it. A collaboration with Detroit Speed, the build took two years and ended up shoving a twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 under the hood, a mill tuned to 914 horsepower. What, they couldn’t stretch it to 1,000 ponies? At this rarified level, no one’s really counting.
All that grunt is funnelled to tarmac through an all-wheel-drive system built specifically for this truck, and the engine breathes through an intake manifold which was 3D-printed and designed by the gearheads at Ford Performance. Those are one-off wheels with real bead-locks, by the way; if you’re wondering why such a detail is required, please consult the back catalog of “Gymkhana” films on YouTube. (Not that it matters, but “Gymkhana 7” is this writer’s absolute favourite.)
This isn’t the first time the Hoonitruck has popped up for sale. Back in 2021, the truck surfaced at an outfit based in Michigan and bearing an asking price of US$1.1 million. That group, called LBI Limited, is said to have handled the sale of other vehicles associated with Block prior to shilling the Hoonitruck.
Will the machine sell for seven figures this time around? Barrett-Jackson prides itself on maintaining a massive sell-through rate, with the vast majority of what crosses its auction block doing so under no-reserve. That’s the auction term for selling an item without setting a minimum price — whatever it sells for, it sells for.
While this event isn’t always known for great deals, at least the Hoonitruck isn’t part of a so-called “charity sale,” which often sees vehicles trade for massively inflated prices thanks to rich people allegedly finding loopholes in rules for making donations to registered charities. It’ll be sold during prime time, assuring lots of excited and potentially alcohol-sodden eyeballs will be on the thing, sandwiched on the block between a 1968 Ford Mustang Boss 429 and a frankly gorgeous custom 1957 Lincoln Continental Mark II Coupe.
Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on Instagram ,Facebook and X to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.