Ford Put Its Trucks Through the Ultimate Gauntlet: A 20,000-Foot Active Volcano

Forget a bumpy backroad or a snowy mountain pass. Ford recently took its toughest trucks and SUVs, including the Ranger Raptor and Expedition Tremor, up the world’s highest active volcano, Ojos del Salado in Chile. The goal was audacious: drive from the summit, at over 22,000 feet, back down to sea level and snag a pair of Guinness World Records.

And they did it in stock vehicles, no modifications allowed.

The challenge wasn’t just the altitude. The team had to navigate rugged, sandy terrain while dealing with oxygen levels so low that a standard engine would gasp for air. Ford had some data from tests in Tibet at around 19,000 feet, but this was uncharted territory. Before the run, engineers installed a data recorder in one truck and had a local team pre-run the route to map hazards.

Still, no one could predict how the weather would behave, winds could shift in an instant, and overnight temps at base camp (14,200 feet) were brutal. At a certain point, the team had to trust the engineering.

The vehicles didn’t flinch. The Expeditions, Ranger Raptors, and Everest were cold-started multiple times over several days at base camp without a single hiccup. At altitudes between 18,400 and 19,400 feet, where oxygen is scarce, every engine fired up instantly. 0-liter EcoBoost climbed to nearly 19,400 feet over three days, tackling 30% gradients in loose sand.

5-liter EcoBoost, reached 19,000 feet without issue. The secret? Turbocharging. While a normal engine loses about 3% power per 1,000 feet, the EcoBoost compresses thin air and forces it into the cylinders. But there’s a catch: too much boost can damage the hardware. Ford’s control system had to walk that line carefully.

In the end, the team pulled off the mission and walked away with two Guinness World Records. The takeaway for anyone who owns one of these trucks? If you ever get the wild idea to drive up a 20,000-foot volcano, chances are your Ford will handle it. They’ve already proven it can.