New Ford Raptor To Come With EcoBoost V-6 Engine

2017 Ford F-150 Raptor (Credit: Ford)

As the coming of the second-generation Ford F-150 Raptor approaches, more details about the hardcore pickup truck are leaking out. The latest juicy detail is about the engine, which apparently will be a V-6 EcoBoost.

The news came straight from the horse’s mouth instead of the rumor mill, so there’s no chance it’s heresy. During the 24 Hours of Daytona, Fox Sports TV was interviewing Raj Nair, who is Ford’s head of Global Product Development. Nair divulged that the 2017 Raptor will be powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine.

Before you declare that Ford has lost its way and there is no good in the world anymore, read on. Nair also said that the twin-turbo engine will kick out more power than the current 6.2-liter V-8, which boasts a hefty 411 horsepower and 434 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2017 model with a smaller engine will reportedly put out about 450 horsepower. It pulls off such a stunt thanks to some clever engineering, including an anti-lag system for the turbos and a combination direct- and port-injection system.

For those who still aren’t impressed by such information, there is one more tidbit that should excite the Ford faithful. The same 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine that will be in the 2017 Raptor will also power the new GT supercar. That means with some tuning, squeezing out well over 450 horsepower should be pretty easy. In other words, in this case smaller is better.

The Ford Raptor will have some other cool features as well. Of course it is built with an aluminum body like the rest of the F-150 lineup, with the EcoBoost engine helping shed weight as well. There is also a combination four-wheel/all-wheel drive system on the truck, giving owners the best of both worlds.