Ken Block Returns to YouTube with the Craziest Truck Pull Ever

By James Derek Sapienza - February 28, 2019

In a Hoonicorn versus Ford F-450 tug-of-war, everybody wins.

There are plenty of high-horsepower Mustangs out there (thankfully.) But when it comes to insanely-powerful, all-wheel drive ‘Stangs, one name quickly comes to mind: Ken Block. The original Hoonigan’s YouTube page has been silent over the past few months, but within the last few days, things have gotten busy. Namely, he’s dusted off the channel, and pledged to upload a new video once a week. For starters, he takes the 1,400-horsepower Hoonicorn out of the garage.

This video, called “Townuts” takes a little explaining. “During the L.A. shoot, we had a bunch of downtime while we waited for Cossie parts,” Block says, referring to his Ford Escort Cosworth rally car, “so we decided to do something…I guess what some people would call stupid. But we had a lot of fun.”In case you’re wondering, Block defines Townuts as “performing donuts and/or burnouts whilst being towed.”

Cinematic Masterpiece?

To paint a clearer picture: Townuts aren’t much different from pickup truck tug of war contests that you might see at your local county fair. Except instead of two diesels duking it out at the fairgrounds, you’ve got a 1,400-horsepower drift car going up against a modern Ford F-450. In true cinematic fashion, we then cut to the trailer where Ken and the Hoonigan team are dreaming up Townuts in real time. “Up until five minutes ago, we thought we had a big parking lot and an entire crew and nothing to do, so we came up with something.” The results, unsurprisingly, are glorious.

A lot of the video is spent figuring the logistics of the video. There is, of course, a lot of horsepower and torque at play, and a lot to go wrong. Then, with just 20 minutes left in the empty lot, they let rip. In the first shot, the Hoonicorn makes a lot of smoke, but gets pulled along by the Super Duty Ford. In the second, Ken Block unconvincingly pulls the truck. At first, it’s about as real as pro-wrestling. But while it may be choreographed, the donuts are absolutely real.

Ken Block's Hoonicorn doing Townuts.

As the truck starts to turn slowly, the Hoonicorn does what it does best, namely turning rubber into smoke. Sure, it could be just a bunch of guys killing time by having fun with cars, but they’re doing it with a big budget and a hell of a lot of power. Let us be among the first to welcome Ken Block back to YouTube. The internet is a better place with him on it.