FORD F-150 RAPTOR R
Steroidal, 690bhp F-150 is perfect for those for whom excess is not enough
The word ‘overkill’ dates back to the 1940s, referring to the multiples by which mankind could be nuked into extinction. Black humour dubbed the phenomenon ‘pounding the rubble’ but even cold war tensions can’t match the excess of the arms race between pick-up truck makers in the US. Here’s Ford’s latest tactical weapon, built to knock Dodge and Chevrolet back into the stone age.
The Raptor name needs no introduction to UK readers, because Ford sells its Ranger Raptor to any would-be hooligans who think Kent looks a bit like Baja, if you squint. But this is the F-150-based version and the even more Raptory Raptor R, complete with a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 good for 700 horsepower.
Thanks to flared wings filled by 37in all-terrain tyres, the Raptor R fills any kerbside parking spot, at 2.2m wide. Wild graphics and orange LEDS complete the big rig look, and a pair of dual exhausts resemble tank cannons. ‘Ford’ is written back and front in a font size normally reserved for billboards.
The blame for this braggadocio can be laid at the feet of Stellantis, whose engineers stuffed a Hellcat V8 into the Ram pick-up, called it the TRX and included a hidden Easter egg graphic of a tyrannosaur dining on a velociraptor. It’s the kind of taunt more commonly found in professional wrestling.
The Raptor R is Ford hitting Dodge over the head with a folding metal chair while the referee is distracted by the F-150 Lightning EV pick-up. The Lightning is clean and modern and forward-looking. The Raptor R offers the kind of berserk aggression normally associated with long-term steroid use.
However, because the Raptor is also an F-150, it can be used in much the same manner as any of its milder-mannered cousins. It carries kids and mountain bikes and all manner of gear. It will tow up to 3946kg (8700lb) of trailer or speedboat. It’s not the easiest thing to park and the fuel economy is absolutely crippling, but for all that, the Raptor R is a well-mannered monster truck.
Until provoked. The V8 is essentially the same as that in the Shelby GT500, but tuned for more (640lb ft) low-end grunt. Even at 2756kg, the Raptor explodes off the line. Quarter-mile times are in the low-12sec range. The TRX is evenly matched for power, but the Raptor R is more than 300kg lighter than the Ram, and it’ll just pip it through the timing lights.
Bragging rights secured on Tarmac, the Raptor R needs only to be as good as a standard Raptor off road to be a winner. For the most part it is, although only for the right environment. On the narrow forestry roads of British Columbia, a Ranger Raptor would be infinitely preferable. On a broader desert, the Raptor R’s 33cm of ground clearance and adaptive dampers should fly just as high over the dunes as the twin-turbo V6 version.
You’ll just get to those dunes faster. And stop for fuel sooner.
Really, this last is why the Raptor R feels slightly more desirable than mutually assured destruction, but not a whole lot more. As an engineering exercise, it trumps rivals and neatly illustrates why the F-150 is so dominant. For the owner who absolutely has to have the top dog pick-up, it’s the over-muscled beast you want to put on a chain.
Yet it’s no more capable than the standard Raptor at eye-widening Baja sand-surfing, it is astoundingly inefficient and a Lightning would probably outrun it from rest without any of the drama. The Raptor R can be rather good fun. But it is, without a doubt, complete overkill.