As Expected, the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Makes its Debut

2017 Ford F-150 Raptor (Credit: © Ford)

When Ford redesigned the F-150 for the 2015 model year, it oddly left the SVT Raptor — the 411-horsepower, off-road-ready version of the best-selling pickup – off of the list of options, leaving us all wondering what the automaker had in store for the next-gen raptor. Well, the wait is over, as Ford has revealed the new Raptor at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, and despite some missing information, it is everything we expected.

First and foremost, the new F-150 Raptor inherits the 2015 F-150’s striking new body, which gives it a much more aggressive look. With this new body also comes the same high-strength steel frame and military-grade, aluminum alloy body that debuted with the new F-150. These lightweight materials drop the F-150 Raptor’s weight by more than 500 pounds. On top of gaining all of these new features that are included with the new F-150, the Raptor is a full six inches wider than the base F-150, giving it a larger footprint when tacking rough terrain.

2017 Ford F-150 Raptor (Credit: © Ford)

Under the skin, the new Raptor comes with revamped Fox Racing Shox. The front and rear shocks now feature three-inch canisters – up from 2.5 inches last year — and exceed the last-generation Raptor’s travel of 11.2 inches up front and 12 inches in the rear. The new terrain management system gives the Raptor the ability to adapt to various situations, ranging from a dry lake beds to rock crawling to the daily snow and slush that comes with living in the north. Doing the dirty work are 17-inch wheels shod in next-gen BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires.

Under the hood of the Raptor, a 3.5-liter, twin-turbo, EcoBoost V-6 replaces the snarling V-8 engine from the last-generation Raptor. While Ford did not reveal the output of this engine, it did mention that it exceeds the 411 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque that the old 6.2-liter V-8 produced. This powerful V-6 mates to a 10-speed automatic transmission that delivers power to all four wheels via a new transfer case.

2017 Ford F-150 Raptor (Credit: © Ford)

Pricing of the Raptor is still unknown, but that’s no shock, as the hard-core pickup will not hit showrooms until the fall of 2016. That’s right, you have to wait more than a year to get your hands on this beast.