Over the past few months, Team O’Neill (a car control school based in New Hampshire) has shown the performance capabilities of vehicles that definitely weren’t designed to be rally cars. They’ve reviewed everything from a Porsche Cayman S to a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. The most recent episode is the most intriguing though, as the crew tests the high-speed off-road capabilities of a Ford F-450 Super Duty pickup.
This gigantic six-wheeled beast is designed as a luxury tow-vehicle. Watching the O’Neil guys trying to get the 8,000 pound monster around corners without losing control is pure entertainment.
Once the traction control was pulled, the truck was able to maintain a drift, but the highway rubber was the weak point. By the end of the session, chunks of rubber had been torn from the tires, effectively destroying a 50,000 mile tire in a couple of laps.
As expected, the Ford F-450 Super Duty was the slowest vehicle tested in the Team O’Neil tests, but it does answer the question “Will It Rally?” with a brutish YES.