Records are made to be broken. You may remember that Chevrolet set a Guinness World Record on September 28, 2016 for the largest flag in the world pulled by a moving vehicle. In that case, the vehicle was the new 2017 Chevy HD with the all-new 6.6L Duramax V8 turbo-diesel, the American flag measured 3,186 square feet (approx. 40 x 80 feet). The world record requires the vehicle to travel with the flag a distance of at least 100 meters without the flag ever touching the ground. This is a unique and patriotic way to promote a truck.
Ford thought they could best the record, and they did on November 19th, 2016 with the help of the 2017 Ford Super Duty and its 6.7L Power Stroke V8 turbo-diesel. The record flag measures 4,124 square feet (approx. 45 x 92 feet). Ford used special rigging and a team of 20 people to ensure that the giant flag did not touch the ground.
How much torque and power is needed to tow a massive flag? We do not know, but one thing is for sure – the latest heavy duty trucks are propelled by monstrous power. The Ford holds the title for most torque in a heavy duty pickup: 440 hp and 925 lb-ft of torque. GM and Chevrolet have the title for most horsepower: 445 hp and 910 lb-ft of torque. Ram has not recently upgraded their diesel. Ram HD is at 385 hp and 900 lb-ft of torque.
The ball is now in GM’s and Ram’s court on whether they will answer by towing an even larger flag.
TFLtruck was fortunate to personally witness GM’s world record at Texas Motor Speedway. Check out the video below for the footage.
