To prove that its 3.5-litre Ecoboost is more than enough engine in the F-150 truck and that it’s durable, Ford will give the Ecoboost its racing debut at the famous Baja 1000 desert race this November. The twin turbo, direct injection engine will be in stock condition (said to have been selected randomly off the line from Cleveland Engine Plant), and the machine is this cool F-150 you see here.
“The engine going into our race truck for the Baja 1000 is the same engine going into the 2011 Ford F-150 that customers can purchase starting next year,” said chief engineer Eric Kuehn. “No special blocks or structural upgrades. We are fully confident that because of the strict testing the 3.5-litre EcoBoost truck engines underwent before we started manufacturing, it will take anything the desert can dish out.”
Ford will compete in full-size stock class, which includes competitors with unlimited V8 engines. For safety, a full roll cage is added to each truck. Also allowed for competition are modifications to the suspension, tyres and wheels.
Baja is part of a “torture test program” by Ford to convince customers that its 365 hp/570 Nm Ecoboost V6 is a class leading engine. Visitors to Ford’s US website can see a poor engine enduring thousands of miles on the dynamometer and in the lab to ensure 150,000-mile durability (240,000 km) for the most demanding F-150 customer.
The site will also show a series of web-based documentaries hosted and narrated by Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. The “jobs” include towing a pair of Sprint Cup Ford Fusions for 24 hours around a 1.5-mile oval track and hauling timber in Oregon.
More pics after the jump.
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1531]
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so ugly.. i think my mitsubishi lite is way nicer
You must be joking. Mitsi Lite looks far uglier than most workhorse pickups.
Frankly speaking, I still prefer it to Arena…
Who the hell cares what it looks like…all that matters is who cross the finish line first.
why name it baja? macam baja subsidi sajer
Its pronounced /ba ha/ even though its spelled “Baja”. Baja biasa kat Malaysia nie = taik :)
“Baja” is the name of the desert where the race is done :)
Baja new mexico.
Ugly but musclar. US muscle vehicles are well-known for that.
im counting 12 headlights over there !
is a must for night race in the desert.. the obstacles or sudden drop offs u can’t see..
Is it an oil burner or petrol? And looook at the size of that heat sink, are you sure this is stock? Heck…
heat sink? you mean the radiator or the skid plate?
Yaya radiator, too much pc lately.
Now that’s what i call a truck. Pajero pls stand aside…
baja race? what baja race? still; well known off road race is dakkar and pajero did very well there..not ford. tq.
Cool…
“Have you driven a Ford……………. lately.” Or was it “Built Ford Tough”. :)
super cool!!
with the SVT Raptor version will be good~
Go Ford… stand a site ladies (=hiluuxxx, navarraaa, tritoonnn…), SD please bring in F-150 in, I want to buy one…
Should facelift our Malaysion Ford Rangers to look like this… really BAD to the bone!
and you can park a suzuki alto underneath it