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In 2007, Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond embarked on a trip from Nunavut, Canada to the North Magnetic Pole. The special edition was called the Polar Challenge and the team had a pair of 2007 Toyota Hilux Double Cab 3.0-liter diesels heavily modified by Icelandic company Arctic Trucks. A few years later, James May piloted one of these to Iceland’s Eyjafallajökull volcano during the eruption.
YouTube channel The Straight Pipes had the chance to take an Arctic Trucks-modified Ford F-350 Super Duty for a spin this week, and it’s visually and mechanically impressive. The truck starts with a 6.7-liter V8 turbo diesel under the hood good for 475 horsepower and 1050 lb-ft of torque straight from the factory; the powertrain is not modified, but the suspension, axles, and differentials are. Here’s where it really stands out: the huge 44-inch tires and corresponding custom fender flares.
These giant tires can be aired down to get more traction and better weight distribution down to 3 psi or even 1 psi, says The Straight Pipes’ Jakub Wrobel without even getting out of the truck (which may require a stepladder, depending on how tall and how limber you are). There’s a switch panel inside the cabin that allows the driver to control each tire individually. With this dual compressor system, the company says it can air up the tires from 1 PSI to 30 PSI in 10 minutes. That’s quick.
“The best part of this AT44 conversion to me is that it’s not like a BroDozer where they lift it just for the sake of lifting it, [and] put these little baby tires and big wheels on it,” Wrobel explains. “[Arctic] lifts it as little as possible to make sure that driver fatigue is down and roll stability is lower. It’s about three inches higher than a standard F-350, which is nothing considering those massive tires.”
With the AT44 package (so named for the tire size), the Ford is shoed with custom wheels that Wrobel estimates to be “maybe 17 by 15.” He explains that they’re not beadlocked because the tires could slip when aired down to super-low psi levels. Getting out of the car for any reason, including re-mounting your tires, is not ideal in the below-freezing Arctic environment.
The YouTubers said they expected the truck to be “beyond terrible” on the road, but it was better than expected.
Founded in Iceland and now headquartered in Norway, Arctic Trucks re-engineers models like the Ford and Toyota, plus Nissan Patrols, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and more all over the world. In the U.S., the company has a location in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Wrobel’s counterpart Yuri Tereshyn points out that one can buy an Arctic truck at a dealership in Yukon Territory in northern Canada, just in case you feel like heading out on your own Polar expedition.
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