Ford SVT Raptor R to Compete in Best in the Desert
After a lengthy development, Ford’s SVT Raptor has wowed journalists, the public, and the competition. While Toyota’s TRD showed off a new supercharged Tundra and GM crammed the 6.2L Vortec motor into a Tahoe, SVT has blown every single competitor into the weeds with the best prepared pickup truck in history.
Although debuting with a relatively unimpressive 320 horsepower from the familiar 5.4L Triton V8, Ford promises at least 400 horsepower from the new 6.2L Boss engine soon, however even that figure will be overshadowed by the amazing platform it’ll be bolted up to. With perhaps the most impressive suspension system bolted to a truck, the Raptor uses internal bypass Fox Racing shocks at all four corners to suspend thoroughly revised control arms. Those control arms push the track out a full (and ridiculous) seven inches, requiring the fitting of new and gorgeous sheetmetal that gives the Raptor it’s prerunner looks. With almost a foot and just over a foot of suspension travel in the front and rear respectively, the Raptor features a boatload of revised electronic stability control features to allow for greater speeds across the desert, and to compensate for the locking rear differential.
And as if that wasn’t enough, SVT has produced an R version of this wild truck. Produced specifically for off-road racing, the production based truck has placed third in the Baja 1000, and will be racing in the Best of the Desert series. However, while that may not mean much to most folks, Ford has admitted that the SVT Raptor’s racing pedigree is really little more than a trial program for their performance parts branch. Using the SVT Raptor R to test aftermarket parts, Ford will be releasing a series of competition tested parts for their most impressive F-150, so that owners can make their’s the best in the desert.
