Last week, there was a team of Ford engineers field testing their repowered and redesigned 2017 Ford Raptor off the road. Some people got a chance to take a peek at the experimental phase of this truck which wasn't part of Ford's press releases.
There were three Raptors as well as a number of other F-150 variants which were cruising around in the sand and wooden off-road areas. They were apparently located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Work with Raptors
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When spoken with after the session, the drivers of the trucks said that they were running very well, and they would be taking students from Michigan Tech out for recruiting in the trucks the next day.
This sounds like a terrific strategy by the company. Who wouldn't get excited to work with Ford if you got to play with Raptors? It certainly beats working for a controversial organization like the IRS or the State Department! Just do not run into a large boulder!
As far as the work that is concerned goes, engineers were, allegedly, trying to figure out how well the "sand mode" works on the truck. But, it looks like the Raptors still weren't good enough to get over some sand mounds which does not match the standard that Ford maintains.
One of the Raptors did get stuck in the sand, but this is the development testing phase and irrespective of what you are driving, if you don't face problems during testing, you aren't testing or developing properly enough. When you know what the problem is, you can focus on fixing it.
New EcoBoost Engine
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As you may already know, the big news about this new Raptor (apart from the aluminum body which was introduced in 2015 on the F-150), is that it will be moving from its current 6.2 L V8 to the prolific 3.5 L V6 EcoBoost engine.
This means that the car will certainly have more power when compared to the previous engine, and there is a substantial aftermarket for the new engine which is going to help people do all sorts of magic with the truck.
The next generation Raptor is also going to be running on an all-new terrain management system which they previously called the "sand mode."
This is basically supposed to help set the transmission and the throttle response for the truck on a variety of surfaces or conditions including asphalt, sand, and everything else in between. It can even be shut off when it is not needed.
No Official Numbers
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Even though there are no official numbers for the Raptor as yet, if the figures doing rounds right now of 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque are accurate, truck fans are going to have hardly anything to complain about. Ever since this Raptor was announced, fans have been hoping for numbers like this, and it looks like they are going to finally get what they want. This should make the new Raptor an incredible sports truck for just about any driving situation.
Fans are still waiting to find out how well all these new toys are going to work when tested in open settings, but as far as right now is concerned, fans are pretty stoked for the new 2017 Ford Raptor as is most of the off-road community. Competitors like GM though are certainly not happy about this!
Seeking a Higher Plateau
Also, who isn't itching to find out what the Raptor can do on a quarter-mile strip? With the twin-turbo engine, new lightweight body, and 10-speed auto gearing, the truck might just be able to put in some remarkable times over the quarter mile as well. Ford seems to have done it again. They continue to push the bar even higher.
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