As an off-road racer, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is tough to beat: A pre-production model finished third in its class in the grueling 2008 Baja 1000. But as a street-legal pickup straight from the manufacturer, it’s just about unstoppable. Especially now that Ford’s wedged a big 6.2-liter V8 under the truck’s hood.
That engine is a new option for the Raptor, coming on top of the standard Triton V8 that’s worth 320 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. “Those are nice numbers,” said Brian Chapman at Memphis Ford, but Ford really pushed the envelope with the updated Boss V8, sharpening the Raptor’s talons to the tune of 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque and making it the most powerful half-ton production pickup on the road—or off.
The secret: Ford really did design the Raptor to be “the first-ever high-speed off-road performance truck offered by any manufacturer.” Of course, one look at the truck makes that obvious. A blacked-out Raptor-only grille and available and aggressive graphics packages immediately grab your attention, as do the truck’s dimensions. Riding on some big-time rubber—massive 35-inch SVT-tuned tires from BFGoodrich—the Raptor also sits about seven inches wider than a standard F-150. Which comes in handy for the truck’s complement of cutting-edge suspension technology.
In fact, internal triple-bypass FOX Racing shock absorbers, unique cast-aluminum front control arms and more provide 11.2 inches of suspension travel upfront and 12.1 inches in the rear. Combine that with full-time four-wheel drive, an electronic locking rear differential, hill-descent control, driver-selectable off-road driving mode, and approach/departure angles of 30 degrees/23 degrees, and the Raptor is ready to fly over some of the toughest trails around.
But if you want one, you’d better get in line: Ford had 3,000 orders for the Boss V8 Raptor before it even went on sale.
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