The build featured here, while looking like a monster is apparently known more correctly as a digger truck. But leaving specifics aside for the hardcore aficionados, what's interesting about this truck is how it's built to suit a specific purpose.
Starting with a a tube frame chassis with an integrated rollcage, the builders then fitted a cab and fabricated a custom rear section for the chassis, which would serve as a cover for the engine, mount in the middle of the chassis. This is already a departure from the typical monster truck build, which normally have their engines in front. The engine is a 540-inch big-block with a 10% overdriven supercharger. This gives it a horsepower rating of 1,800-1,900 horsepower, although a peak of 2,500 is reportedly possible with the setup.
To handle that power and enable this rig, named King Sling, to jump the high berms that please spectators, the truck is equipped with a 4-link suspension, nitrogen-charged bypass shocks, and, of course, 4 wheel drive. The coilover shocks have 16 inches of travel at the front and 20 inches in the rear. A difference from monster trucks one will observe will be the tires. The tires are narrower and a bit smaller, although the lugs on the tires are custom-cut. As an indicator of the amount of custom work performed on the truck, the cutting of the tread takes 6 hours per tire. Finishing off the King Sling is a paint job that uses spray-on chrome as a base before being finished in its lime color that was overlaid with custom graphics.
With no definite weight available for the King Sling, we can't do proper performance calculations to get some performance figures for the truck. However, it's generally acknowledged that this truck weighs half that of monster trucks, so with almost 2000 horsepower on tap, acceleration and powering through obstacles should not be a problem at all. Source article here.
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