SEMA is starting once again, and Ford is shining this year with the second ride (first one is 2017 Hurst Kenne Bell R-Code Mustang covered in our article) that is going to be more than awesome! The second vehicle from Ford which is definitely going to turn a lot of heads as well is 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor which was in the preparation stages by Ford Performance division. The race ready F-150 Raptor will see the light of day this weekend on SEMA after which is going to be transported to Mexico where later this month will run in the SCORE Baja 1000 endurance event under the stock full class.
If you caught any of the previous news regarding this vehicle, then you probably know that Ford Performance division teamed up with Foutz Motorsports in an attempt to successfully modify the pre-production 2017 F-150 Raptor for desert racing. Of course that the partners came up with an excellent truck that looks somewhat intimidating, but to be entirely fair the Raptor has that same look as soon as it rolls from the factory floor. Furthermore, it doesn’t need much tinkering to make it desert ready because it is a fairly off-road capable vehicle in its stock condition as well.
What needs to be fitted on the production vehicle and is mostly regarding the safety is the roll cage that the team installed, as well as the fuel cell and LED light bars. The suspension normally has to be specially tuned so it can accommodate and stay balanced with all the additional weight. What remains untouched is its 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine which is rated at 450 HP and 510 lb-ft of torque. Two more things which are also a factory, and you might not know about, are its beadlock wheels and the K02 tires that BFGoodrich makes.
This truck was tested not that long ago in the “Best in Desert” racing event that included a 645 mile run from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada. The Raptor’s driver Greg Foutz completed the track successfully in 15 hours which earned a 101st place from 231 participants in total. Since Greg has a lot of experience and driving hours behind the wheel of the first gen Raptor, he stated that the current version shows very significant improvements. “There are an extra two inches of wheel travel, plus the all-new 10-speed transmission never has to hunt for the right gear” Greg said, and added, “The new Baja mode keeps the turbo spooled up — it’s miles better than the previous off-road mode”. We will see just how exactly good it is when the Baja 1000 race starts on November 16-20.
