Automobile Magazine Drives Jet-Powered F-150

We've driven all kinds of pickups: gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, gas-electric hybrid, electric-only, hydrogen fuel cell. But we've never piloted a jet-propelled pickup truck like the Ford F-150 that our friends at Automobile Magazine recently tested.

Truck and jet-engine enthusiast Chris Lentz paid $12,000 for his 2005 Ford F-150 STX, then another $10,000 for a Czechoslovakian-built M-701 turbojet to mount in the cargo box. The turbine power plant weighs 728 pounds and produces 1,962 pounds of thrust at 15,500 rpm. Lentz also custom-fabricated interior controls to shift and blend power between the F-150's stock 4.6-liter V-8 and the jet engine. He also bolted a 20-gallon kerosene fuel tank in the bed to feed the jet.

Automobile Magazine drove the one-of-a-kind F-150 at a test track to find out how fast the piston-turbine gas-kerosene hybrid could fly. We won't spoil the results. Read on after the jump and decide if your new weekend project will be your own Czech-American Ford flyer!

[Source: Automobile Magazine]