What would you do if you saw a jet-powered Honda Acty smoking out a highway? Take some pictures? Call 911 to alert authorities that the freeway seemed to be on fire? Tell the story to your friends for the rest of your life? Yes to all. If this sounds like a WhistlinDiesel stunt, you’re right.
The YouTuber is at it again, this time upping the performance of his all-wheel-drive Honda Acty (short for Activity) by mounting a fighter-jet engine in the bed and using the alt-power to propel the pathetically under-muscled mid-engine Japanese mini truck to speeds that make it less dangerous. The video is called “Putting a Fighter Jet Engine in my Mini Truck (Fire Dept Called),” and it’s already garnered millions of view in the first 24 hours. If you’re familiar with the influencer, you know this isn’t the first time he’s played with jet engines—he’s the one that jet-powered a merry-go-round until the engine came loose and metaphorically landed in another state.
Not that many of us would know, but it’s easy to imagine that there’s always a high level of sketch when choosing the jet-power route. Cody, the main man behind the WhistlinDiesel channel, had fear in his eyes as the right-hand-drive Honda Acty’s speedometer pegged itself at a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour. To put it into perspective, the measly Acty normally attacked hills foot-to-the-floor, barely holding 30 kmh. According to the Acty’s tailgate (12 Valve 660), it could be powered by a 660 cc 12-valve inline-three E07Z gas engine that makes 52 and 45 lb-ft of torque. Max payload could be in the 440-pound range, another aspect to consider.
“I’m shaky. It’s genuinely scary. There’s fire and smoke and the truck is rattling and the brakes are overheating. That is surreal. I really heated it up that time,” said WhistlinDiesel.
It would be a bit disconcerting to be stuck in a cockpit designed for Disneyland Autopia speeds while a very loud fighter-jet engine bent on catapulting you into space did its thing a few feet from your face. You’re pretty much begging for catastrophic failure. As to the legality of a jet-engine vehicle, your guess is as good as ours. It’s definitely problematic, but there’s something appealing about a jet-powered freeway merge.
As you’ve probably figured out, the guys fed the jet engine diesel fuel, which technically gives the green light to talk about the shenanigans on Diesel Army. Part of the 15-minute video shows the Honda pulling up to a gas station and the guys filling a home-rigged bed-mounted fuel jug with diesel. “Wait, will it take diesel? Diesel could make the engine explode, or implode, or re-explode,” joked WhistlinDiesel.
WhistlinDiesel’s take on the whole thing? “That is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” That’s saying a lot from a guy who drove his Monstermax diesel truck in the ocean. We suspect this isn’t the end of his escapades with his lovably unique jet-powered Honda Acty mini truck.