Ford has brought to life the favourite toy of thousands of kids with the unveiling of its F-750 Tonka dump truck, at the NTEA Work Truck show in Indianapolis, IN.

Ten feet tall and powered by a 6.7L Powerstroke turbodiesel, this bright yellow big-boy (or -girl!) toy is based on Ford’s brand new F-650/F-750 commercial truck platform and features a functional dump body built by Michigan-based Truck Tech Engineers. Dressed in Tonka’s signature yellow paint with black grille and graphics, the concept is the result of a collaboration between Ford and Funrise Toy Corporation, the company that builds Tonka toys for Hasbro.

Built as a promotional vehicle for display at truck shows like NTEA, the F-750 Tonka is sadly not for sale, and won’t go into production. But it’s a pretty great promotional tool for Ford’s new commercial truck line, which is available in a variety of body styles and frame configurations that underpin regular, Super and Crew Cab models. Ford says the area behind the cab was rejigged for easier fitting of custom work bodies; the manufacturer also claims the F-650/F-750 is the only truck in its class to offer power folding and telescoping trailer-tow side mirrors.

As a functional truck, the life-size Tonka boasts a gross vehicle weight rating (combining the truck’s curb weight with maximum payload capacity) of 33,000 pounds, or 15,000 kg, and the dump box can hold 17,000 pounds (more than 7,700 kg) of whatever needs to be hauled.

In production F-650/F-750 models, the Powerstroke motor will be offered in three states of tune: 270 hp/675 lb-ft of torque, 300 hp/700 lb-ft, and 330 hp/725 lb-ft. All will use a six-speed automatic transmission. These trucks go on sale this summer, and will be built at Ford’s Ohio assembly plant. Ford doesn’t mention pricing, but for the chance to drive around in this Tonka concept for even a few hours, we’d pay just about anything.

FordF750-Tonka_01_HR

Connect with Autos.ca