Ford Named Official Vehicle of King of the Hammers, ULTRA4 Racing
The soon-to-debut Ford Bronco and current vehicles like the F-150 Raptor, Ranger FX4, and Super Duty Tremor have the Blue Oval brand angling to boost its rep as a go-to for off-road enthusiasts. Adding to that status, Ford is now the official vehicle of ULTRA4 Racing and its King of The Hammers, putting its stamp on one of the most exciting and most widely seen off-road events going today.
“Working with ULTRA4 Racing and King of the Hammers is a natural for Ford based on our truck, SUV, and off-road heritage,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Our participation in King of the Hammers builds on our rich history of off-roading by continuing to deliver on Built Ford Tough in the most demanding conditions.”
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ULTRA4’s 2020 King of Hammers took place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8, drawing more than 450 teams to Johnson Valley, California, to try their hand at extreme desert racing and rock crawling. Josh Blyler was this year’s winner, finishing the 165-mile course in just over 7 hours. Some 75,000 spectators were on-hand to see the race in person, and online viewership is estimated at more than 1 million.
Ford estimates that rugged, off-road capable trucks and SUVs have seen double the growth of conventional SUVs in recent years, which explains the expansion of the brand’s offerings in that area. About a quarter of all SUV sales in 2020 come from SUVs like the all-new Explorer or the FX4 Off-Road Package-equipped Expedition, which Ford says is more than twice what the percentage was a decade ago.
The latest off-road-ready Ford, the long-anticipated Bronco, is rumored to be making its world premiere this March and will arrive in early 2021.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.