The average guy probably couldn’t duplicate this truck with aftermarket parts at this price.
Ford Motor Company’s Special Vehicle Team, the source for all things Shelby and Cobra and birthplace of the Ford GT, has just introduced the F-150 Raptor, its first pickup truck project since the last Lightning hot-rod pickup six years ago.
It’s a “pre-runner” in slang since it can be driven on road or off road at high speeds and can be used to scout race courses before the race.
The Raptor is aimed directly at those who want a seriously fast four-wheel-drive off-road piece, a truck with enormous capabilities that the average guy couldn’t duplicate with aftermarket parts at this price, a truck like those used by professional racing teams to pre-run races such as the Baja 1000.
Of course, with a 310 horsepower, 365 foot-pound, 5.4-liter 3-valve V-8, it’s no slouch from stoplight to stoplight, either (Ford says it will do 0-60 mph in 8.4 seconds, top out at 100 mph, and pull 0.86g on a 300-foot skid pad). The engine can run on 87-octane gasoline or E85 ethanol (320 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds on ethanol). If you are interested in fuel economy, this isn’t your piece.
It’s rated to carry a 1000-pound payload and haul 6000 pounds behind it, and comes with four- and seven-pin trailer hookups. Later in the year, the Raptor will offer a new 6.2-liter V-8 engine making 400 horsepower and 400 foot-pounds of torque.
On or Off Road!
Raptor’s four-wheel-drive system includes electronically selectable 2 High, 4 High, and a 4 Low range that can be used all the way up to 100 mph instead of cutting out at 20 mph, plus an electronic locking differential in the rear and two sets of 4.10:1 axle gears. The disc brakes are gigantic, 13.8 inches front, 13.7 inches rear, and need to be for this heavy setup.
For the time being, all Raptors will be based on the F-150 SuperCab body and chassis. The Raptor is a full seven inches wider than a standard F1-50, with new front fenders, hood, grille, and pickup bed, what’s said to be the industry’s first hydro-formed steel front bumper, and unique orange marker lights on the body to meet federal standards (FMVSS 108) because it is so wide. Color choice will be Molten Orange, Blue Flame, Oxford White, or Tuxedo Black, and the “digital mud” black bed graphics are optional.
Inside, the Raptor features SVT white-face gauges, specially bolstered front bucket seats, and a rack of four auxiliary switches that normally come only on F-250 Heavy Duty models, switches than can be used for additional driving lights, winches or accessories.
The track width of the suspension has been stretched eight inches wider than a standard F-150’s, and the front and rear suspension systems have been completely re-engineered for heavy-duty off-road use. This includes new front lower-suspension arms made of pressure-cast aluminum, a wider rear axle, new spring rates, and a whole set of bash plates to protect the underside of the truck. New engine mounts and hydraulic body mounts are included in the package.
The Raptor’s Fox Racing shock absorbers are the real heart of the truck, and mark the first OEM use of triple-bypass aftermarket shock absorbers. Ford and Fox Racing worked together to give the Raptor exactly the right combination of on-road ride comfort and off-road capability by blending these premium aftermarket shocks with new springs and bump stops.
The Fox shocks use huge .875-inch stainless-steel rods and they are position-sensitive, meaning that the faster forces come into the suspension, the harder the shocks resist, up to four times harder at the bottom of the stroke than at the top. They are filled with a very expensive aerospace oil and nitrogen gas combination to cope with operating temperatures as high as 400 degrees F. and as low a -60 degrees F., and the rear shocks have remote reservoirs with an additional 735 cc of oil reserve in them. With these shocks and the new suspension arms, front suspension travel increases to 11.2 inches and rear travel to 12.1 inches.
Another key element of the Raptor’s off-road prowess are the 35-inch tall LT 315/70R-17 All-Terrain TA/KO off-road tires specially developed for the Raptor by BFGoodrich. On their 17 x 8.5 inch cast alloy wheels, the tires help the Raptor to climb and descend extremely steep gradients in rocks, dirt, sand and snow, yet provide an extremely plush and quiet highway ride. The tall tires and the suspension modifications add about 2.5 inches to the Raptor’s ride height and its hefty 9.8-inch ground clearance.
Electronic countermeasures on the Raptor include ABS brakes, traction control, Roll Stability Control (RSC), a Tow/Haul mode, a trailer brake controller, Trailer Sway Control, an Off-Road Mode that changes throttle and transmission calibrations for slow going, and the industry’s first use of Hill Descent Control on a pickup truck. The HDC system works from two to 20 mph, and remains armed at speeds between 20 and 40 mph, and switches off above 40 mph. Once the button is pushed, HDC works in both Drive and Reverse.
We spent two days last week driving the Raptor on-road from San Diego to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the largest state park in the country, and then flogging the truck on both a very, very rugged hill course and a 22-mile loop through the washes and ruts and riverbeds of the park.
The truck’s on-road behavior was exemplary, with very plush seats, a comfortable and quiet ride (discounting the throaty roar from its 3.5-inch exhaust system in the background and some body roll).
Off-road, it was simply the best pickup truck we have ever driven off-road, with accurate, positive steering, excellent braking on low-traction surfaces, and amazing uphill (the big engine) and downhill (the HDC system) performance. Cresting hills so steep we could only see the desert sky above us, and then easing down the other side with HDC on was just a matter of steering the truck over the rocks and through the ruts and not touching the brake pedal at all. Driving across truly challenging desert flatlands at speeds over 50 mph was easy and pie and twice as tasty. Making “lane changes” right to left right across a riverbed full of eight inches of loose silt was no problem at all.
The going-in price for a Raptor is $38,995 including D&D, Sync, and Sirius satellite radio. There are eight normal F-150 options available plus a six-item luxury package. When the new 6.2-liter engine becomes available, the 6.2 version of the Raptor will be $41,995. Ford says they will build only 7000 copies a year over the next few years. It is not clear how large the market is for this type of vehicle, whether they will be in tight supply or discounted.