Ford 350 Super Duty Monster Truck to star at Top Gear Live 2011
Meet Red Dragon, a custom-built Ford 350 Super Duty Monster Truck which produces a ground-shaking 1308 bhp and comes complete with an air-cannon mounted on the back that can fire a fridge-freezer 80 yards.
The hand-built truck will be one of the must-see attractions at the all-new Top Gear Live (topgearlive.co.uk) on 11 – 13 November at NEC Birmingham and 24 – 27 November at ExCeL London.
A tubular frame chassis holds the supercharged, bespoke 9.5-litre Chevrolet engine, which delivers 1308bhp and an incredible 1,040lbs ft, in place as it burns through a gallon of methanol fuel every 50-60 yards.
Two axles from a 50-tonne crane crank the extraordinary power into the 6ft by 4ft giant wheels. With each tyre and wheel weighing in at a quarter of a tonne, it’s no surprise to hear that the Red Dragon hits the scales at 4.5 tonnes in total.
Technical Specification
Body Fibre-glass mould of Ford 350 Super Duty
Height 11ft
Length 20ft
Width 12ft
Weight 4.5 tonnes
Engine Supercharged 9.5 litre custom Chevrolet
Power 1308bhp
Torque 1040lbs ft
Yards per Gallon 50-60 ypg
And if its outrageous performance is not enough, the additional spectacle of a custom-built 600psi air cannon, capable of shooting a fridge freezer out of the back, underlines its suitability as a Top Gear Live machine. In fact, the ultra-powerful cannon can shoot any object weighing up to 650kilos. . . scooters apparently go quite far.
Hand-built over three months, Red Dragon is the creation of former European Monster Truck Champion, Rob Williams. It made its debut appearance at Top Gear Live South Africa last year.
Billed as ‘The ultimate Top Gear experience’, visitors to this year’s all-new event can expect all the on-screen, supercharged excitement of the TV show rolled into one event, with the famous presenting trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May previously seen in the TopGearLive action arena now spilling out into the rest of the event.
At the centre of the new format is the new Top Gear indoor track featuring highlights from the TV show including Stig power laps and Star in a reasonably priced car as well as the Top Gear Stunt Team, head-to-heads and supercar parades.
