Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Hatchback, Ford, Off-Road, Racing

Ken Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino are headed back to the 100 Acre Wood Rally this weekend in an attempt to dominate the race for the fifth consecutive year. However, the major difference is what the gravel-bound duo are driving: The #43 Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta.

After a suspension issue resulted in a DNF for the team at the Sno*Drift rally earlier this month, Block and Gelsomino are out to prove the Fiesta is up to the task of beating snow, gravel and ice into submission. To that end, they headed out to SayersBrook Bison Ranch this week to give the Fiesta a proper shakedown ahead of the event, and you can check out the results in the video after the jump.

Continue reading Ken Block attempting 5-peat at 100 Acre Rally in new Ford Fiesta [w/video]

Ken Block attempting 5-peat at 100 Acre Rally in new Ford Fiesta [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford

Heavy duty truck lovers have been waiting for these figures for a while, so let’s just cut to the main course. The 2011 Ford Super Duty can be had with two engines: the 6.2-liter gasoline-powered V8 found in the upgraded SVT Raptor, which puts out 385 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque, or an all-new, Ford-designed 6.7-liter turbo-diesel V8 producing 390 hp and a pavement pummeling 735 lb-ft of twist (at 1,600 rpm).

The latter engine in the F450 is able to tow some 24,400 pounds and has a maximum payload of 4,920 pounds. The F350, which is the closest competitor to the Chevrolet, GMC or Ram equivalent, comes to the fight with 21,600 pounds of towing capacity and 6,520 pounds of payload (if you’re curious why the F450’s maxium payload is less than the F350’s, check out this explanation half-way down the page). Each engine is mated to a 6R140 heavy-duty TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission.

Our First Drive of the new King of the Hill will be forthcoming, but you can get all the details in the press release after the jump. Oh, and General Motors, there’s a big ass ball in your court.

Continue reading 2011 Ford Super Duty power, towing specs released

2011 Ford Super Duty power, towing specs released originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Ford

One of the common, angry refrains that veteran 24 Hours of LeMons teams voice is the fact that the $500 junker series keeps increasing the safety requirements, especially when it comes to roll cages. After all, their cage passed the tech inspection last time, no problem. Why the hassle, man?

It can be safely assumed however, that the driver of the Ford Escort ZX2 sees no problem with tighter, tougher (and yes, safer) LeMons roll cage requirements. First and foremost, the driver walked away from the wreck (it took place at last weekend’s Gator-O-Rama 2010 race near Houston, TX) with zero injuries. Second of all, the following video is a very good lesson in why your wheels shouldn’t stick out past your car’s fenders. Sadly, the AMC Gremlin that the Escort climbed up isn’t visible. However, you can see a little piece of its side wing airborne in the image above. Watch the video, after the jump. Thanks to DrWife for capturing the footage!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: 24 Hours of LeMons Ford Escort ZX2 flips out

Video: 24 Hours of LeMons Ford Escort ZX2 flips out originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Spy Photos, Truck, Work, Ford

Ford has done a lot of work over the past few years to really improve its F-Series line of pickups, in both standard F-150 and Super Duty forms. And while the Blue Oval’s “Built Ford Tough” motto stands true to the latest and greatest versions of these pickups, the smaller Ranger has been greatly overlooked over the past decade.

These most recent spy shots show Ford’s new Ranger, but don’t get too excited. Despite the long-in-the-tooth truck’s aging underpinnings and FoMoCo’s push to standardize platforms with it’s “One Ford” initiative, the all-new Ranger most likely won’t make it to the States (despite our best hopes).

Our spies indicate that this new Ranger will be slightly larger than the version currently on sale in other markets, but that it’s actually somewhat smaller than the truck currently sitting at U.S. dealerships. We think that may be a visual trick of the camouflage and the four-door configuration, however, as this vehicle is expected to be larger than the current North American model, as it will go on duty in countries where Ford doesn’t offer the F-150. Still, should the Blue Oval perform an about-face and bring the truck to America, we don’t think this would hinder Ford’s overall sales too much, and this much-needed overhaul would make the model better positioned to compete with the likes of the Toyota Tacoma, as well as the Nissan Frontier/Suzuki Equator twins in markets abroad.

Spy Shots: Next-gen Ford Ranger global quad-cab spotted originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments