For a native Midwesterner, desert truck racing is one of those sports to which I've had very little exposure. In fact, my experience has largely been limited to late-night episodes of Baja on ESPN, immediately following the college cheerleading finals, which I may or may not have been watching. But for those who live in the part of the country that possesses deserts — namely, the Southwestern states — desert racing is a much more common pastime. So when Ford's SVT crew was handed an all-new 2009 F-150 and told to go do their thing, they decided to sideline another Lightning-style street truck in favor of a blazing fast off-roader. The result is the F-150 SVT Raptor.
The Raptor's motorsport connection is very real; Ford put together a production-based Raptor R to compete in this year's running of the Baja 1000, the world's pre-eminent desert race. Built in just three months, the Raptor R managed to not only finish the grueling event, but walked away with third place in the decidedly serious Class 8.
Drawing on years of experience in off-road racing, SVT focused on building a suspension that could take the abuse of crashing over rocks and gullies at high speeds. That means lots of suspension travel and some serious shocks. SVT went straight to the aftermarket for dampers, choosing race-proven Fox Racing Shox with internal bypass valves. Combined with 11.2 inches of travel in front and 13.4 inches in back, the high-performance dampers not only allow the truck to float over big obstacles, they also prevent it from bottoming out on big landings. Numerous improvements to the front suspension, such as tie rods, half-shaft joints, and upper and lower control arms, help to ensure you'll survive more than one such landing. Of course, all this is bolted up to the already impressive chassis of the new-for-2009 F-150.
Power comes from a 5.4-liter V-8 that puts out 320 hp, but a more impressive 390 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission sending thrust to all four wheels is the only drivetrain option. Admittedly, a 2WD setup would probably be more appropriate for fast running in the desert — especially given the traction from the standard 315/70-17 BFG All-Terrain TA/KO tires — but Ford is hoping the Raptor's appeal will extend to northern regions where 4WD is a sales necessity. The AdvanceTrac stability control system features two performance modes — sport and full off-road — for the driver's entertainment. Sport mode disables traction control and allows for a bit more slip angle before intervening. The full-tilt off-road mode, however, shuts down stability control and puts the ABS system on special assignment; the modified braking program allows for roughly 95 percent of threshold braking before the anti-locks start chattering, allowing drivers to still turn while braking hard on loose surfaces.
The resulting performance is literally unbelievable; it doesn't seem fathomable that a three-ton hunk of steel should be capable of flying through the desert at speeds of 80 mph and more while soaking up crater-sized impacts, one after another. With 320 horses under foot, acceleration is brisk if not lightning-quick, but the Raptor's ability to preserve speed under such punishing conditions is its real strength. At the end of our roughly five-mile stage, I'm left giggling like a schoolgirl. If the Raptor were an amusement park ride, I'd be one of those guys who stands in line for an hour, takes the short trip, and gets right back in line, repeating this exercise for the rest of the day. It's that addictive.
Visually, the Raptor sets itself apart from lesser F-150s with unique bodywork. For starters, it's seven inches wider to accommodate the larger rolling stock and modified suspension, and that alone necessitates bigger fenders and bumpers. If the bulging wheelhouses alone aren't enough to tip you off, the Raptor also incorporates a vented hood with functional extractors, and the SVT logo carved into the fender vents. But the most obvious tell-tale is the absence of the blue oval from the all-black grille, which instead contains the letters "FORD" in boldface. Micro-sized LED running lights are built into the grille, giving the Raptor an unmistakable identity at night. Inside, the SVT-appropriate sports seats do a great job of holding the driver and front passenger in place during severe driving, while still soaking up the impact of hard landings. In homage to its racing roots, the Raptor's black, leather-wrapped steering wheel has a red-orange center stripe at the 12 o'clock position in case you forget which way is straight.
Like Ford's Baja-conquering Raptor R, the street Raptor is a serious piece of off-roading machinery; unlike the race truck, it will have no real competitors when it enters the marketplace next summer. Normally, that would spell certain success for a limited-production vehicle. Unfortunately, the Raptor may arrive in the trough of the worst economy in recent memory. If it fails to hit its modest sales goals, it won't be a result of its own shortcomings.
