Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor is no longer an unknown entity; we’ve grown to love its high-flying antics, the 100-mph blasts through the desert, and the ability to tear through just about any type of muck imaginable all in the comfort of a $44,000 street truck with a warranty. That hasn’t stopped Ford from making it better, though, and we recently joined the SVT wizards and a fleet of 2012 Raptors in Moab, Utah, for an exploration of the vehicle’s least likely skill: rock crawling.
Yes, the three-ton beast with a wheelbase of at least 133 inches can shimmy up crevasses and climb over boulders like a rubber-soled mountain goat. In addition to the standard 411-hp, 6.2-liter V-8; long-travel suspension; 35-inch-tall BFGoodrich tires; and an electronic-locking rear differential; the 2012 model ($43,565 base) is notable for its standard Torsen front diff and optional forward-looking camera. Other changes for 2012 include new 17-inch wheels, revised bedside graphics ($1075) and hood ($900), Race Red paint in place of Molten Orange, and a more tasteful interior package with real aluminum accents ($750).
The Torsen replaces the previous Raptor’s open front diff and can shuffle power side to side for better traction. The camera, which is operable at speeds below 15 mph, eliminates the nasty blind spot immediately in front of the truck when you’re climbing steep grades and can only see sky out of the windshield. The camera requires the $2470 Navigation and $2970 Luxury packages and displays what it sees on an eight-inch monitor in the dash, complete with graphic overlays for precise wheel placement. A separate washer nozzle in the grille keeps the view unobscured. Reduced likelihood of running over your spotter while traversing a trail like Hell’s Revenge: $525. The irony of viewing 70-million-year-old fossilized Velociraptor footprints from the cab of a Raptor pickup: priceless.
Another Challenge Conquered and Another Remaining
Much to Ford’s surprise and delight, the F-150 Raptor’s performance in the market has been as impressive as its prowess in the rough. Beyond the obvious image boost, the truck is claimed to be quite profitable and selling well, both in the U.S. and abroad (mostly the Middle East and South America.) The company never estimated production figures, but SVT officials tell us that Raptor sales have already surpassed the total number of F-150 Lightning street trucks produced and that 2011 production may reach 10,000 units by year’s end, the vast majority being the new-for-2011 SuperCrew version. With a relatively tight general supply and new Raptors taking only two weeks or so to find homes, 2012 production is being upped to compensate for the increasing demand.
Because the Raptor is such an unusual vehicle, it holds great potential for coaxing pilots beyond their limits—or the truck’s. Witness internet footage of Raptor club outings, wherein owners bomb over desert obstacles that would make a Trophy Truck wince, tweaking their frames in the process. To minimize future incidents of the sort, Ford is working to educate buyers on how to keep Raptors shiny side up and out of danger. For now, Ford’s tutelage is limited to an instructional DVD and a supplement in the owner’s manual, which it is very likely nobody will ever read. But, just as many sports-car makers offer driving academies, the blue oval is investigating potential partnerships with off-road luminaries.
In Another Year, It’ll Be Able to Drink. Then Things Get Really Crazy
Keeping up the momentum generated by successes like the Raptor is the key challenge facing SVT as its 20th anniversary approaches in 2013. The celebration kicked off a little early in the form of the 2013 Focus ST and the 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500, which go on sale next year. Despite the car’s early release and the 650 hp belted out by its supercharged 5.8-liter V-8, SVT claims the fortified Shelby was already in the works before Chevrolet committed to the 580-hp Camaro ZL1. With the Boss 302 raising the bar for the standard pony car, the GT500 had to go big. But it also will be more civilized, with refinements such as adjustable dampers and braking feel for which SVT says the Porsche 911 GT3 was a benchmark. Big words indeed.
The new Focus ST and GT500, along with the 6000-pound Raptor, illustrate how varied SVT’s portfolio has been over the years. Whereas factory tuners like Mercedes-Benz’s AMG and BMW’s M work their magic over most of the parent company’s lineup to similar ends, SVT’s sporadic products have ranged from front-drive compacts to rear-drive muscle cars and from on- and off-road pickups to a $140,000-plus, 200-mph supercar. All have been uniquely engineered in their own right and great fun to drive, but common threads are few.
European Hands Make Light Work
Ford’s push for global development, exemplified by the European gestation of the Focus ST, will allow SVT to continue diversifying. Jamal Hameedi, SVT’s chief nameplate engineer, notes that the combined effort on global models frees up engineers to work on regional products such as the GT500 and Raptor. With the ST as a template, Hameedi doesn’t rule out other shared projects—the new Ford Fusion and European Mondeo, the latter of which has a history of factory tuning, are closely related and could present an opportunity.
As for other transatlantic crossovers, Hameedi says that the RS badge affixed to ultra-hot versions of the Focus in Europe resonates with the U.S. market. We get the feeling that, if the calls were his to make, SVT would touch everything Ford makes. Hameedi also shows considerable interest in mechanical-flywheel hybrid technology as an alternative to storing recaptured energy in batteries, and refuses to throw cold water on the potential for SVTs with all-wheel drive—so long as they’re executed properly.
Whatever SVT does next, our stint in Moab reminded us just how happy we are that the Raptor exists. And that we’re finally getting a European-tuned Focus. And a 650-hp Shelby Mustang.
Ford F-150 EcoBoost by Skyjacker Suspensions
Ford F-150 by CGS Performance Products
