Ford Unleashes Most Off-Road Capable and Connected F-150 Raptor Ever
Ford, America’s truck leader, created an off-road icon in 2009 when it introduced the desert racing-inspired F-150 Raptor. It was designed to not only speed over rough terrain, but also to jump and catch air.
And today, it’s born again with an all-new third-generation F-150 Raptor that takes the mechanical and technical brilliance and precision of Raptor and infuses it with enhanced connected technology that means the experience of owning one will only improve over time.
“Raptor is the original desert truck. We just took it to another level,” said Ali Jammoul, Ford Performance vehicle program director. “The all-new Raptor splices high-speed off-road performance muscle with advanced technology and connectivity that comes together in a unique Built Ford Tough way.”
2021 Ford F-150 Raptor detailed: Could this full-sized pick-up point the way to the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor ute?
4 Feb 2021 • 4 min read
Ford has pulled the covers off its third-generation F-150 Raptor, which could give clues to what is in store for the hotly-anticipated all-new 2020 Ranger Raptor.
Powering the new F-150 Raptor is a carryover 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost petrol V6, but Ford is yet to confirm its outputs. In the previous car, the engine output 336kW and 691Nm, but don’t expect this unit to make its way into the next Ranger Raptor.
Rumour has it that the new-gen Ranger flagship will adopt a 2.7-litre twin-turbo petrol as seen in the new Bronco and some grades of the F-150, with a tune of around 230kW/540Nm to match up against the Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara rivals.
Assisting with cooling the V6 are vents in the power dome bonnet, and smaller extractors in the wider front wheel arches.
Opening the list of Raptor must-haves are BF Goodrich KO2 all-terrain tyres, available in 35- or 37-inch diameters (889mm and 940mm respectively), the latter size the largest offered from the factory on any light-duty full-size pick-up.
With the 35-inch tyres fitted, Ford claims a 31-degree approach angle, 22.7-degree breakover angle, 23.9-degree departure angle, and 305mm of ground clearance. Opt for the 37-inch units and those numbers increase to 33.1 degrees of approach, 24.4 degrees of breakover, 24.9 degrees of departure and a 333mm ground clearance.
CLICK-NOW: 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor Official Reveal And Close Up Look (No Bla-Bla Or Pundit Guessing - Just Facts!)
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Tackle tougher terrain: Fully redesigned F-150 Raptor boosts its off-road capability with all- new five-link rear suspension featuring improved wheel travel, electronically controlled next- generation FOX™ shocks with Live Valve™ technology, plus first-in-class available 37-inch tires
to tackle tougher terrain on high-speed desert runs
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Most connected: Every F-150 Raptor comes with standard over-the-air updates and a new connected experience that can deliver potential features like shareable digital trail maps or other off-road technologies in the future; plus, there’s SYNC® 4 with cloud-connected navigation and voice search and the FordPass mobile app to check on your truck remotely, control the truck’s lights from your hand and more
This is the new 2021 F-150 Raptor, Ford’s Baja-inspired super truck that now enters its third generation claiming to be even more off-road capable, more connected, and perhaps more importantly even better at jumping over stuff.
Ford is well aware of the F-150 Raptor’s iconic status and popularity, saying that over the last four years, the previous-generation model cumulatively outsold Porsche’s entire lineup of sports cars and also surpassed Chevrolet’s Corvette in sales.
At launch, the new 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor will be available with an updated twin-turbo 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6 but way more interestingly, the carmaker did confirm the existence of the highly-anticipated Raptor R model with a V8 engine, which will debut next year.