DETROIT – We saw the ’17 Raptor SuperCab at last January’s North American International Auto Show, nearly two years before the Ford performance truck goes on sale this fall. So what’s left for an encore? How about the Raptor SuperCrew?
The SuperCrew debut, while not a surprise, is significant in that the 4-door model represents 80% of Raptor sales volume, Ford says, and therefore is far more representative of the vehicle that will interest most potential buyers.
It’s also much closer to production, so the paint color is correct as well as many of the final details. One of those specifications, the exact output of the twin-turbocharged 3.5L V-6 breathing freely through its first-ever dual exhaust, remains cloaked in secrecy.
We’re promised output exceeding the 411-hp, 434-lb.-ft. (588-Nm) 6.2L V-8 in the first-generation Raptor and speculation puts the number upwards of 450 hp. But this race-bred powerplant also goes into the Ford GT due late this year and Ford says that version will produce in excess of 600 hp. The engine is mated to an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission developed in cooperation with General Motors.
The ’17 Raptor also benefits from the same aluminum lightweighting that knocked up to 700 lbs. (318 kg) off the standard F-150’s curb weight. In the Raptor, aluminum body panels and bed save about 500 lbs. (227 kg), Ford says. Extensive use of high-strength steel in the boxed frame gives the Raptor the strongest chassis in the F-150 lineup.
The SuperCrew rides on a 145-in. (3,683-mm) wheelbase, 12 ins. (305 mm) longer than the SuperCab model. All Raptors are 6 ins. (152 mm) wider than standard F-150s.
Like the previous Raptor, produced ’10-’14 model years, the ’17 Raptor is equipped with a full slate of Baja off-road-racing-bred equipment including Fox Racing Shox and massive 17-in. BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires. A new torque-on-demand transfer case and a Terrain Management System allow simple selection of powertrain modes to match conditions.
