There are few pick-up trucks that can claim to have as much of an impact as the Ford F-150 and even more so, of that of its off-road variant, the Raptor. Claimed to be America’s best-selling pick-up truck, the F-150 has carried generations across varying terrains all over the world and the Raptor sits in an extremely unique niche, one that other manufacturers are still trying to imitate.
Ahead of the debut of the all-new Raptor model on February 3rd at 8 PM (GST), Ford has released a teaser image to keep truck enthusiasts glued to their screens in search of more images. Although the official image isn’t very revealing, it does show the redesigned truck will have an evolutionary grille with the brand’s prominent “FORD” lettering and there seems to be a black bumper with what appears to be some decals on the hood.
Although Ford is staying rather tight-lipped on the specifics of the new model, previous spy shots did reveal a beefy skid plate and recovery hooks. As is the tradition with all Raptor models, we can expect some beefy fender flares and a chunky set of BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires. The big news, however, is the suspension as the rear leaf springs have been traded for more modern coils, resulting in greater comfort and an additional structural brace in the back.
From an engine and power perspective, we expect the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 to the carried over with some mild modifications for improved performance, however, to stay ahead of the competition, a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 could be added to the line-up as well. Borrowed from the Shelby GT500, rumors claim that a Raptor R with over 700 horsepower is in the works. The mighty Raptor R is supposed to be Ford’s answer to the RAM 1500 TRX which will be launched with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 pumping out 702 horsepower and 880 Nm of torque.
