Ken Block Blasts Up Dangerous Chinese Mountain Road in 914-HP F-150
Tianmen Mountain Highway is one of the most hazardous roads in the world. Watch Ken Block drift through its 99 turns at full speed.
Feeling the back end of a vehicle break loose can be a frightening experience. For a split second, you’re not in complete control of it. Unless of course you’re Ken Block. The star of the Gymkhana videos, in which he drifts high-powered Ford vehicles around various curves and obstacles, is used to going sideways. In this second installment of his Climbkhana series, he power-slides all the way up China’s Tianmen Mountain Highway.
There are a few different ways you can go up the mountain. You can take the easy way. According to Travel+Leisure, you can hop into a cable car that “will climb almost 24,500 feet to the top of Tianmen Mountain. At the end, the riders step out onto the ‘Gateway to Heaven.’ At about 5,000 feet above sea level, Tianmen Cave is the highest naturally formed arch in the world — which has given the landmark its famous moniker.” Or you can walk up the 999 steps to reach that “stairway to Heaven.” Block chose to drive through the highway’s 99 sharp turns – as quickly as possible.
Did Block use one of his highly modified Ford Fiestas, whose size would be helpful on such demanding and dangerous pavement? No. One of his juiced-up Mustangs? Nope. He used a truck. That’s right – a pickup. In fact, he chose a 1977 Ford F-150 for the job. But it definitely wasn’t stock. It’s slammed so low that its fender lips almost kiss its 315/35R20 tires. Up front, it technically has a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Technically. The engine in the king Hoonigan‘s truck, aka Hoonitruck, has a billet-aluminum block straight out of the Ford Racing Ford GT Le Mans development program and was built by Ford Performance and Roush Yates. Those companies created an absolute monster that generates 914 horsepower and 702 lb-ft of torque. An all-wheel drive system puts that output to the road.
That’s more than enough grunt to get Block to the top. The rest is up to him. He not only needs to get there in one piece, but he has to do it in his signature style. He doesn’t disappoint. Most people would approach each turn, some of which are above steep drop-offs, with caution. Block flies at them, eager to use their limited real estate as a stage on which to display his precision driving. In an instant, his eyes discern where he’s going and needs to go while his feet work the pedals and his hands manipulate the steering wheel, e-brake, and shifter for the six-speed gearbox.
Some of Block’s maneuvers are so dialed in that the rear spoiler on his truck barely misses scraping one of the highway’s guardrails.
After several more smoky slides, Block gets to the top and zooms across the finish line. It’s an impressive feat that leaves us wondering how Block will top himself. We know he’ll figure it out, though. It’s clear that he takes his fun seriously.
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