Gearhead Makes Tiny Hoonitruck

HotCars

By Gene Kosowan

Published Jan 11, 2019

The Hoonitruck is a really cool vehicle, so when a gearhead decided to honor the pickup with a tiny one, the result is pretty cool.

topgear.com

The most distinctive form of immortalization isn't exactly a hot topic these days unless the conversation drifts towards statues of Confederate generals. More innocuous testaments range from the naming of schools after politicians to action figures created in tribute to sci-fi stars. As for creators of really cool cars, well, what better way to make their legacies permanent than by creating operational scale models of the real thing?

The latest candidate worthy of such scrutiny is Alex Saint, who was so taken by car builder Ken Block's Hoonitruck that he decided to make a much smaller version for himself, according to Top Gear. It might not have the screeching drama of careening across the pavement like the real thing, but one can't help but marvel at the work Saint put into his model.

Still, when it comes to miniaturizing this rabble-rousing road machine, Saint had to make a few amends. For some reason, he didn't opt for using the 1977 Ford F-150 as the foundation for his project, going instead for a 1971 Honda N600 model instead.

And naturally, he couldn't shoot for the 914 horsepower V6 that Block used on his Hoonitruck. So, Saint chose a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 motorbike engine, a 1.0 liter, four-cylinder motor capable of churning out around 190 horsepower and installed into the rear of his creation that in the end would weight slightly more than a thousand pounds. Put into perspective, Ken Block's more life-sized Hoonitruck uses a 3.5-L twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine he got from a Ford GT Le Mans vehicle that belches out 914 horsepower.

To finish his mini-truck, Saint installed eight-inch wheels decked out with tires that were 18 inches high and 9.5 inches wide. He added a six-speed gearbox equivalent to Blocks Hoonitruck. Then for the sake of presentation, a rubber compound called Plasti Dip was sprayed onto the body and the logos were stenciled onto the finish.

Then Saint took to the road, where the little Hooni reached 104 miles an hour, zipping for a quarter mile in 12. 4 seconds. That's impressive for a scale model, but he's not stopping there. He's aiming to get closer to single digits by adding a turbo component to provide brake horsepower exceeding 400.