Arctic Trucks’ Ford F-150 Conquers the Poles With Massive 44-Inch Snow Tires
Bigger is sometimes better, especially when it comes to four-wheeling in the Arctic Circle.
No one does off-roading like Iceland's 4x4 firm Arctic Trucks, known for its massively capable builds that almost always feature monstrous tires and ultra-wide fenders. The company's latest project is no different, though it is a change of pace compared to the Toyota Land Cruisers you typically see crawling from one glacier to the next. It's a 2020 Ford F-150 pickup jacked on 44-inch winter tires—and it looks the business.
Built on a Lariat-trimmed F-Series, this truck is just short of top o' the line with its laundry list of upscale features. Of course, amenities like heated seats are a must when traversing the Arctic Circle's frozen landscapes, but what we're most interested in is the hardware underneath. For that, we have to take a closer look at the F-150 AT44.
Yes, it gets its name from the size of its tires. Who does that?
Staring at the truck head-on, its aggressive stance is the most notable change over the usually-modest F-150. The boxed fender flares just barely edge off the headlights' bottom outside corners and, in the bumper, there's a pair of LED pods to help with nighttime visibility. Iceland is incredibly vast, and nearly 80 percent of the country is uninhabited. Mix that with a heaping helping of snow and you'll certainly want to see where you're going in the dark.
Once you pan to the side, there's all the Arctic Trucks graphics you'd expect, along with the mud flaps mounted behind each Nokian Hakkapeliita tire. This reinforces the Ford's tough-as-nails ethos and, if we're honest, makes it look even more ridiculous...which is kind of the point here. If it were up to us, we'd remove the factory cab steps and take the run-and-jump approach. For ground clearance, y'know.
As for the suspension underpinning the Blue Oval pickup, it's largely custom-built by Arctic Trucks. When you run such a tall tire, not to mention a wider track, it requires some vehicle-specific modification. Don't worry—it can take the abuse and more, thanks in part to the upgraded underbody armor as well.
It's unclear what engine is under the hood of this F-150, though TFL Truck hazards a guess that it might be a 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel V6. That's regarding this specific truck, not all AT44 Fords. Presumably, if you wanted to have your own built you could supply a base with whatever powertrain you prefer and Arctic Trucks would give it the same four-wheeling treatment.
Pricing is yet to be announced for the earth-trotting pickup. Regardless of the figure Arctic Trucks publishes, it probably isn't super relevant for us Americans as you'd also have to factor in shipping your truck to the most remote part of Europe, paying them to fix it up with all the goodies, and sending it back another few thousand miles via the Atlantic Ocean. But that shouldn't stop you from wanting one, though.
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