What takes place when an IndyCar engine from 2022 is put into a 2017 Honda Ridgeline? What kind of fun?
The Electrikhana video of Ken Block tearing up tires on the Las Vegas Strip came out a week ago. Now, Block and the rest of the Hoonigan crew are back in Vegas at the SEMA show with something new. That “something new” is a 2017 Honda Ridgeline truck that has had a 2022 IndyCar engine put in. The Hoonigan team says it has an aluminum 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine that makes 700 to 900 horsepower when cranked all the way up to its 12,000-rpm redline.
For the truck, Hoonigan worked with Honda Performance Development. The goal was to make a truck that could handle anything from neighborhood road courses to hill climbs. The body of the truck is made from carbon fiber and aluminum and is a one-of-a-kind design. If you look at the IndyTruck straight on, it might almost look like a standard Ridgeline without that huge front splitter. One more look at this build makes it clear how crazy it is. Its engine is open to the weather because it’s hidden under a huge three-level rear wing with side blades that hold the headlights. In short, it’s not at all like the Ridgeline you saw yesterday on your way to the store.
Of course, the engine is the most important part of the project. When the twin-turbocharged V-6 is mounted in the middle of the engine, it takes up the room that the truck bed used to occupy. The open-air setting would make it easy to hear the beautiful sound of the engine belt. The only thing we didn’t like was not getting to hear it turn over.
The truck’s interior was taken apart and a handmade dash was put in its place. Hoonigan swapped out the stock Ridgeline seats for a set of carbon Recaro race seats with Willans harnesses that were attached to the roll cage. The truck has 20-inch Rotiform LTN forged wheels with Pirelli P Zero tires on them.
