Alpha Predator

Reborn with EcoBoost power, Fordâ€™s powerful pickup is all new and much improved

By Steve Turner
Photos by Steve Turner and courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Amid all the excitement about super car and R-models was a little announcement that there is an all-new F-150 Raptor on the way. As one of Fordâ€™s most successful performance vehicles, itâ€™s no surprise that it would continue on with the new F-150 platform, which features a lighter aluminum structure.

The new F-150 Raptor wears 17-inch wheels with BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires meant for traction beyond the pavement.

What might be a surprise is that its hulking 6.2-liter V-8 was replaced by a more fuel-efficient 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine. However, if you were worried that the all-new Raptor wouldnâ€™t live up to its legacy with a smaller engine, donâ€™t.

â€œItâ€™s better,â€ Jamal Hameedi, Chief Engineer, Global Performance, said of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost performance. â€œIt has more torque, which is what you want in an off-road vehicle.â€

And, he should know. Jamal is the father of the Raptor. He shepherded it into production out of Fordâ€™s off-road racing program and shocked the world with its success. With a lighter platform and a smaller, more powerful engine, the next-gen Raptor is poised to continue on that path.

The truckâ€™s new Terrain Management System offers driver selectable modes for almost any conditions, including snow mud, sand and more. Changing these modes tweaks the calibration to adjust the engine, traction control, ABS, and stability control. There are six modes to choose from, including Normal, Street, Weather, Mud & Sand, Baja, and Rock.

â€œWhen we created the first Raptor, we set out to prove vehicle performance isnâ€™t just measured on the street or at the trackâ€”off-road can be even more fun,â€ Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development, said. â€œThe original Raptor, plus enhancements on the all-new F-150 set the bar for us to make the all-new Raptor better in every way.â€

Inspired by Fordâ€™s Trophy Truck off-road racers the new Raptor is 6 inches wider than your dadâ€™s F-150 and rips out twin-turbo tunes courtesy of the a dual exhaust, which is a Raptor first.

FOX Racing Shox are standard on the Raptor. These dampers feature custom internal bypasses designed to keep the truck from bottoming out. The also deliver more travel than the suspension on the current Raptor.

The new EcoBoost 3.5 combo will exceed the 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque delivered by the 6.2â€”liter V-8, but by how much is not clear just yet. What is for sure is that it will channel that power through a new, 10-speed transmission, which with further maximized its efficiency, and a new torque-on-demand transfer case that melds the best of an all-wheel drive setup a mechanical four-wheel drive arrangement.

â€œThe new transfer case offers better traction for a greater variety of terrain at low and high speedsâ€”both on-road and off-road,â€ Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer, Ford Performance, said.