Ford has touted its F-150 Raptor as the factory-built off-road rig to beat right from the start, and the bravado hasn’t let up with the introduction of the 2017 model. Confident its truck’s four-wheeling skills are no cheap trick, the automaker is entering the new F-150 Raptor in the 2016 Best in the Desert off-road racing series under the guidance of its Ford Performance division.
Competing in the factory stock class, the competition Raptors will be allowed only a few key modifications: Race-optimized three-inch-diameter external-bypass front and rear Fox Racing Shox (similar to stock Raptor’s internal-bypass Fox Racing Shox, says Ford); race-optimized front and rear springs that provide additional ground clearance and have an increased compression; a roll cage and window nets; MasterCraft seats with five-point harness safety belts; LED light bars; a racing fuel cell; and a Lowrance GPS and RacePak digital dash with data logger.
Underlining the stock-like build of the race-ready Raptor, Greg Foutz, owner of Foutz Motorsports and builder of the competition rig, said, “This is the most stock truck I’ve ever seen in my time building Ford race trucks.” Joining Foutz in piloting the truck in the series is Tim Casey, a veteran desert racer.
It goes without saying that the competition Raptors will utilize the stock truck’s aluminum body and fully boxed frame constructed of high-strength steel. The rulebook dictates that entries in the factory stock class must use the same means of motivation as the factory units, so those duties fall to the second-generation twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and ten-speed automatic transmission. Ford has yet to release numbers for the high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost, saying only that it will trump the 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft produced by the previous Raptor’s 6.2-liter V-8; we expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 horsepower. The Raptor’s stock transfer case (redesigned for 2017) and Torsen front differential are also along for the ride. BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires mounted to Ford Performance 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels put the power to the, uh, dirt.
Those looking to keep tabs on how the Raptor performs in the heat of competition will get that chance this weekend when the Raptor takes its place in the starting grid at the Parker 425 held in Parker, Arizona. Next up is the legendary Mint 400, in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 10th-14th. Links to the events can be found at the BITD website.
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