Solving the Mystery of “Big Red,” Long-Lost Ford Turbine Truck

Journalist Peter Holderith is on the trail of a long-lost Ford prototype truck named Big Red, and the story is as fascinating as it sounds.

Here at Art of Gears, we love the thrill of tracking down rare and unique cars. Barn finds are always some of my favorite vintage car stories. Shows like Roadkill’s Junkyard Gold are infinitely fascinating because they provide a look into where all of America’s interesting vehicles end up after years on the road.

While I dream about finding my own treasure trove of old, valuable cars, it’s almost as fun to live vicariously through others who are doing the same thing.

That’s why I was immediately interested in Holderith’s recent story for The Drive, where he described his search for a super-rare Ford semi-truck named Big Red.

The story mixes elements of automotive Americana with the thrill of a mystery novel.

As Holderith tells it, Big Red was designed under the supervision of Roy Lunn, Ford’s legendary engineer who also worked on numerous other well-known vintage cars. The truck was 96 feet long, 13 feet high, painted red, and powered by a turbine engine that produced 600 horsepower and 855 lbs-ft of torque.

Big Red premiered at the 1964 World’s Fair – where the Ford Mustang also made its debut – and began to tour the country. Although the rig was impractical, it was saved from destruction and subsequently purchased by Holman-Moody, a race car manufacturer. It ended up in Holman-Moody’s facility at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

The truck was subsequently sold to an anonymous buyer. Holderith says that the truck’s trajectory is unknown after that point. Thus, he tracked down all of the random details he could find online, ranging from social media posts to forum threads. He now suspects that Big Red has ended up somewhere in North Carolina, likely not far from its previous home at the Holman-Moody hangar.

Holderith spotted a YouTube comment identifying the truck’s buyer as a “Mr. Richardson,” who allegedly restored the truck and added it to his personal collection. However, the person who made the comment declined to expound on the buyer’s identity, claiming that the family wanted to remain anonymous.

Further internet sleuthing revealed additional leads, all seemingly pointing to a Richardson family still owning Big Red.

Holderith says in the piece that he’s still researching property records, but has narrowed down the turbine truck’s location to a town in North Carolina and has a hunch as to the specific property location.

The one thing that’s better about an automotive mystery story is a mystery that’s been solved. We’re going to keep monitoring Holderith’s progress, because it looks like he’s getting quite close to wrapping up the case.