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(Mar 06)

Off-Road Goliath: Is this the ultimate Getaway Vehicle?

By: David Kennedy Photography by: David Kennedy

Have you ever daydreamed about being in a car chase? No, were not talking about the kind of chase you see in Los Angeles or on the TV show COPS, but the kind they always seem to have in the really good action movies –the ones where the heroes are running down some bad guy cause he’s stolen something important or kidnapped some pretty girl. You know the ones we mean. If we ever got in one of those chases, this is the truck what wed want to drive.

What you’re looking at is not an optical illusion. It’s a full-blown race truck built around the stock frame, suspension; a body of a ’05 Ford F-250 at could be the coolest Super Duty ever. The truck was constructed in Southern California by Donahue Racing to compete in some of the toughest off-road motorsport events (read about our Baja 1000 adventures on page 58) in the world. Masterminded by the lead engineer Dylan Evans, and executed by George Scott and Ron Stockwell this Goliath began life as a maroon F-250 Power Stroke truck that was destined for a life of commercial use.

In order to handle the abuse of racing and jumping a truck that weighs more than 8,000 pounds, the frame was fortified with aerospace-grads 4130 chrome-moly steel tube. Then, the suspension was upgraded with positive suspension shocks that would look more at home on a monster truck than a ¾ ton pickup. Though it was only months old, the factory trailer hitch was quickly trashed along with the original seats, A/C, and most of the interior. In then place has gone race-ready components from Kartek, a spare driveshaft, the road, track bar, and enough tools to perform A roadside repair on just about anything that could break.

By the time you read this, Donahoe’s Super Duty diesel race truck will have run its third race against a fleet of gasoline powered pickups and hopefully beaten them all. Rumor has it the truck is now capable of speeds of as much as 120 miles per hour. Let’s see, that would mean with 44 gallons of a 120 mph and the ability to jump other cars, you could… well You could outrun a lot of lead guys!

All great vehicles have one component that separates them from everything else out there. On Donahoe Racing’s Super Duty, it’s the shocks. These massive 4-1/2 inch diameter quintuple (that’s five to the rest of us) bypass shocks provide as much as 12 to 18 inches of bump-sucking travel and make Dukes of Hazard jumps possible. These prototype shocks work their magic alongside a set of Donahue Racings 2-1/2 inch lift dual-rate coil springs.