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Company description::
ANAHEIM, Calif. (February 5, 2004) – Leading design and engineering firm bonspeed, known for its cutting-edge innovations in automotive-inspired lifestyle products, has designed and constructed yet another concept vehicle for the Ford Motor Company. “We knew that a follow-up to our concept Thunderbird that we designed and constructed for Ford would need to be a real show-stopper. Ford has always been known for creating performance legends and we wanted one of our own design.", said Designer and bonspeed President, Brad Fanshaw. bonspeed's last project for Ford, a Thunderbird was shown at the 2002 SEMA Show in Ford's booth and was awarded the "Best of Show" Ford design award.
The base vehicle that bonspeed started with for this project was Ford's newly introduced 2004 F 150 Styleside pickup. The truck was one of the first to roll off the assembly line and bonspeed had just 45 days to construct the concept for the 2003 SEMA Show and Ford's booth display.
Competition inspired, Luxury enhanced and 100 years of Ford Heritage are blended into the bonspeed designed F-150. bonspeed pushes the limits of a pick-up by adding four-wheel independent suspension, “Tuned” by Detroit Speed & Engineering. It growls thanks to the 32 valve supercharged motor and six-speed transmission. The truck envelopes the passenger in luxury with specially dyed Mulholland Brothers leather, entertainment system and heated Recaro power seats.
"Interest in trucks has skyrocketed and now consumers want a truck that bridges the worlds of performance and utility. What the "bonspeed Banshee F-150" does is take Fords Lightning pickup one step further and it incorporates the exotic design of luxury performance. The bonspeed design really is much like the Ford GT, but with the skin of a pickup!", says Fanshaw.
The entire vehicle was re-worked beginning with the replacement of the stock V8 drivetrain. The bonspeed Banshee F-150 has been outfitted with a DOHC, supercharged, 4v V8. The drivetrain was fitted with a hand crafted induction system, and milled aluminum finned valve covers designed by bonspeed. Spal fans and a Be Cool radiator keep the motor cool. A six-speed manual transmission from the Ford Cobra Mustang was adapted to ensure the performance of the motor would not be lost to an automatic.
In an effort to complete such an ambitious undertaking in just 45 days bonspeed teamed with Detroit Speed & Engineering. The F-150 was delivered to Detroit Speed & Engineering's shop in Brighton, Michigan before it was shipped to bonspeed in Anaheim. Fanshaw met the truck, where D.S.E. who specializes in suspension engineering installed an independent rear assembly from a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. Kyle Tucker who owns D.S.E. engineered the suspension install and utilized specially built Koni coilover race type suspension pieces.
Once back in Southern California, bonspeed constructed a special set of 20' bonspeed forged alloy wheels for the truck and installed NASCAR style Baer brakes. BF Goodrich provided the tires which are 265/50/20 in the front and 305/50/20 in the rear.
With the drivetrain complete, the bonspeed team crafted a new front fascia for the F-150 and re worked the entire rear bumper to include a racing style diffuser panel and a carbon-fiber rear wing.
The truck was then painted with a specially formulated DuPont "Black Currant" paint applied by L&G Enterprises.
The interior of the F-150 is a one-of-a-kind luxury interior. Working with Andy Harrison a master trim artist, the leather interior was created. The leather specially dyed to bonspeed's specifications was the job of San Francisco's Mulholland Brothers, a luxury luggage manufacturer. Jay Mulholland arranged for the leather to be specially dyed and also provided custom-made matching travel bags which are placed behind the $5000 Recaro seats. A Sony/Diamond Audio entertainment system costing nearly $30,000 was installed using Metra electronics.
The bonspeed designed Ford F-150 was positioned on the center turntable of the 2003 SEMA show as a feature. At the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford once again showcased the truck on the main isle of the Ford booth across from the Ford GT. Currently, the bonspeed design is traveling with Ford to various shows and appearing in the truck hungry Texas market.
bonspeed, formed in 1996 and headquartered in Orange County, California, is a design and engineering group specializing in performance wheels, precision gauges and fine accessory products inspired and produced for the automotive lifestyle. From its high-performance grade custom wheels, automotive lifestyle luxury apparel, and its world famous automotive-inspired timepieces, bonspeed is renowned for a wide range of quality automotive accessories. For additional information about bonspeed, its designs or products, call (714) 666-1999. To view a current selection of bonspeed-designed precision products, visit www.bonspeed.com.
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