The Ford Maverick Race Truck Builds Have Begun
The Blue Oval’s compact pickup was always destined for more than daily duty.
Ford Maverick owners are proving themselves as doers in every sense of the word. Not only have they been working their little trucks, but they've also been lowering and lifting them like crazy. What some folks have been looking forward to most are the Maverick race truck builds given their low center of gravity, relatively low weight, and potential for more power out of the 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo-four. Now, it's happening.
People are taking different approaches to modifying these pickups, and while I'm happy to see anybody throw an exhaust or wheels on their truck, I'm here to highlight the hardcore builds. Your average joe isn't gonna put one of these on a scale and hack away at the curb weight until it's hundreds of pounds lighter, but some people are. Others are developing suspension solutions for the Maverick that get it closer to the ground while also helping it handle more like a sports car and less like a truck. It takes a lot of work, though.
Terry Fair and his company Vorshlag Motorsports have a Maverick shop truck that's doubling as a development mule. It's a barebones XL model with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost and all-wheel drive, which is the perfect place to start. They've had it on a scale, and they found that without any fuel in the tank, their truck weighed 3,595 pounds in stock trim. They've also put it up on a lift, inspecting all the components that most Maverick owners will never see.
Vorshlag has performed spring rate tests and is crafting new camber plates as well as coilover setups that make the Blue Oval way more apt when the going gets twisty. "The camber plates will remove a chunk of rubber from the suspension system and give us camber and maybe caster adjustment," Fair explained to me. "The coilovers will give us a massive ride height change, spring rate change, and, of course, damping change."
Again, it's far from straightforward. Fair says his crew was hopeful that the struts and rear shock mounts from a current-gen S550 Mustang would work, but they didn't. Same goes for Ford Focus hardware, so they've resorted to custom-building new ones for the Maverick, which rides on Ford's C2 platform.
The coilovers that Vorshlag are working on will be adjustable Motion Control Suspension TT1 units. Fair told me they'll provide two inches of drop with more possible. "The stock spring rates told us a lot and will help us with initial spring rates," he added, indicating that these units could be within weeks of reaching the market depending on various supply chain circumstances.
Meanwhile, engine performance mods are also in the works. There's still quite a bit of development to do on that front, as basically nothing crosses over from the Focus ST's 2.0-liter EcoBoost to this one. Five Star Tuning already offers a tune for the truck which boosts it to 267 hp at the wheels, which means nearly 300 hp at the crank accounting for drivetrain losses. That's with no fuel upgrades and a stock turbo, so expect trucks with modified engine hardware to soar around Mustang GT power levels.
Paired with suspension mods like we're seeing from Vorshlag and the results should be monumental.
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