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SVT Raptor is a multi-purpose prize for 2010
By John Gilbert Last Updated: Monday, August 31st, 2009 06:10:36 PM BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIF. --- Since I wanted to fully experience the potential of the 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor pickup, I had asked the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) driving expert in the passenger seat next to me to tell me if I should go faster or slow down as we hurtled over the “whoops” and dips and abrupt curves of the Anza-Borrego Desert. At one point, he said: “OK, you can push it a little faster here...” as he glanced over at the speedometer. Then he quickly added, “Oh, you're already going 60. Never mind.” That, in a nutshell, tells it all about the Raptor, the specialty SVT off-road-racing pickup that Ford is now introducing as a standard production vehicle. First, I was flattered that I had edged the pace up so smoothly that a driving expert who was enduring a week's-worth of helmeted media-types driving him around the high-speed 25-mile course in 113-degree heat thought we were going considerably slower. Most impressive, though, not only was the truck flashing over terrain that normal drivers would have been creeping across, but the Raptor was conclusively proving itself capable of turning such challenging terrain into a smooth but sandy cruise. I suggested that Ford's marketing types needed to come up with the perfect word that would be the exact opposite of harshness. Soft, compliant, mellow, and comfortable just don't do it, because they're kind of wussy words for such an aggressive and macho truck. But without fail, as I would hurtle toward some severe terrain, I would tighten my grip on the form-fitting steering wheel and think, “This is going to be harsh.” And then it wouldn't be harsh. It would be the opposite of harsh, and we would bound on toward the next obstacle. The name Raptor conjures up a ready image of a large, red-tailed hawk circling like a broad-winged glider while keeping its incredible sight on any available prey below. As someone who grew up in Duluth, where the annual fall migration of raptors is celebrated on Hawk Ridge, the name is perfect for an over-achieving, over-engineered truck that can treat virtually every other vehicle as its prey. The Raptor truck is more easily identified; there are black ones and white ones, and I'm told a blue one is coming, but the one I had was metal-flake orange, with black decals on the rear flanks, and that's the one I drove in the Borrego desert. Presumably, I am not the only person who didn't know that the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in the adjacent 48 states, and second only for all 50 to Denali's massive layout in Central Alaska. East of San Diego, you descend from the Vallecito Mountains, and find the hot and sun-partched town of Borrego Springs. And then the desert. Ford Motor Company knew all about it, because that was where the SVT engineers spent countless unbothered hours testing, refining and perfecting the 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor. The F-150, perennially the largest selling vehicle in the country, was redesigned and engineered sufficiently to capture North American Truck of the Year honors a year ago. With every facet improved, it is arguably the most-capable heavy-work half-ton pickup ever built. But that wasn't enough. Despite economic downturns and troubles in the automotive world, Ford coaxed its SVT engineers to start commuting between Dearborn and Borrego Springs to add the same overall high-performance potency and everyday-driver refinement that they performed to turn the Mustang into the Shelby GT – a race-track-ready hustler that is also a polished daily driver.The idea was to design and re-engineer the best pickup the company had made, proving and reproving it in the desert's seclusion until it became something really special as the SVT Raptor. The first one built was entered in the Baja 1,000, the legendary durability test down the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Not many entries make it, and only a scarce few can contend. The Raptor finished third, behind only a couple of specific racing vehicles. The Raptor, meanwhile, was headed for dealerships as a production pickup. To meet SVT's high-end standards, a vehicle earns its emblem by both optimum performance and fabulous handling, along with the creature-features that make it complete. It also is challenged to try to make the entire finished package comparatively affordable in the real world. Amazingly, the Raptor as I drove it had a sticker price of $38,995. That's less than a lot of fancy pickups that are more show than go. When the fully-optioned Raptor comes out with a larger engine, it still will be reasonable at $41,995, considering what you're getting. For power, SVT tuned the 5.4-liter overhead-cam V8 to 320 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque. By winter, an all-new 6.2-liter V8 estimated at 400 horses and 400 foot-pounds will be available.A hardy 6-speed automatic transmission has an electronically-selectable 4-wheel-drive capability, with a locking E-Locker differential that can be switched from 2-high to 4-high, and then to 4-low for the roughest duty. After clicking the dash knob to get 4-low, for example, you can then pull the knob and click into “Off-road,” which changes the throttle map to high-performance, and alters the shift points of the transmission. Insulated within the powertrain are such cutting-edge electronic assets as Advance-Trak traction control, and Roll Stability Control, Ford's ingenious system for sensing when a loss of traction is approaching spinout limits and then acting with electronic power and braking to prevent it. Beneath the surface, and even beneath the powertrain, the F-150 skeleton was widened by 7 inches in track – that area between the front left and right wheels – to house the unique suspension paraphernalia. Forward of the A-pillar – the pillar that outlines the leading edge of the windshield and connects to the chassis – the Raptor is entirely new and exclusive. A hydroformed steel panel braces the lower front end of the exterior, below the revised grille that has gigantic letters “F-O-R-D” running full-width. Underneath, everything from half-shafts to tie rods and schock absorbers are specific to the Raptor. The shock absorbers themselves are works of art, built by Fox Shox, the specialty after-market equipment company best known for duty on high-flying motocross motrocycles and specialty off-road vehicles. Ford worked with Fox Shox engineers to come up with a unique, internal-bypass two-cylinder shock design that are tuned precisely to find a sweet spot between rigidly firm and cushioned compliance. As part of an advance group of journalists, mostly from off-roading specialty publications, I had a blast giving the Raptor my inexperienced but enthusiastic test in three ways, First, we drove fromdowntown San Diego to the resort in Borrego Springs, and the next morning we hit the highway again, out to the desert. They tell me the temperature was about 113, even though I never observed it over 108 on the digital readout in my truck once we got out in the desert. Of course, I was preoccupied much of the time. The second phase was the high-speed desert course, where I probably hit speeds of up to 80 miles per hour skimming over the whoops and swerving between scrub brush and the occasional rocks. The third part was a rock-crawling test up and over and around and up again on the hilly terrain that borders the high-speed wash. At one point on the high-speed run, my passenger said, we would be doing a panic stop, just to show how amazingly the oversized brakes could work, even in desert sand. He alerted me about fixing on a marker just ahead, and said to slam on the brakes. We stopped on a sandy dime, although I had a flash of concern at the high-speed roar that accompanied the stop. An instant later, I spotted the source of the sound through the windshield, as Ford's hired-on helicopter pilot veered up and over us from behind. He must have been flying right on my tail, just above mirror-view, for a photographer's pleasure. I was impressed that, given the suddenness of my stop, we didn't end up with the chopper making an unscheduled landing in the pickup's bed to test the 1,000-pound payload. After a short break to pull off the helmet and sweat-lined liner, there was a chance to grab a bottle of water, relaxing under a canopy connected to a motorhome, or stepping inside the motorhome for an air-conditioned break. The sweaty helmet liner was the product of adrenaline-high driving, not from discomfort while the Raptor was in action, because the air-conditioning in the cockpit negated any influence of the triple-digit heat, and the specially-bolstered bucket seats assured the the run would be made in supportive comfort.
The rocky run was a complete departure, but great fun in a different vein. The Raptor hopped up and over almost everything in normal 4-high mode, and the toughest climbs were simple by clicking into 4-low. The beast climbed those rocky trails like a mountain goat, with the best yet to come. I've always enjoyed and excelled at the rock-climb experiences, because the instincts are the same as driving up the icy hills of Duluth – you establish some momentum, then you keep the power on with disciplined smoothness, certain to maintain that momentum. Several of the rocky trails crested so steeply that all you see is sky out the windshield, and you have to simply trust the Ford folks and their flag-station settings, because you have only hope that the trail continues on the far side. Sure enough, it was there. At that point, you shift into hill-descent control, which is the most amazing part of it all. Once engaged, you creep over the precipice and nose down the 45-degree descent, and you take your feet off both the gas and the brake. Don't touch either pedal, and the Raptor creeps down the terrain with as much control as it had climbed the other side. It holds you to 2 mph and you steer around boulders and deep grooves. If you tap the gas it will go faster, and if you tap the brakes it will stop, but the remarkable thing is the way it holds its place no matter how steep the decline. Other vehicles have hill-descent control, and it is always impressive. But on the Raptor, it is the finishing touch that makes the fast, smooth, powerful and over-engineered pickup as impressive as any rock-crawling specialty vehicle ever built. The suspension travel measures 11.2 inches in front and 12.1 inches in the rear, and there is 10 full inches of ground clearance between those menacing boulders and the lowest skidplate. Those big BFGoodrich off-road tires are more than they appear. They appear to be plenty – large, aggressively knobby off-road tires – but in reality, they underwent a tread-compound alteration with engineers coordinating with Ford. It seems many of those big knobby off-roady tires have such a hard tread compound that they are treacherous on ice. The Raptor's tires have a unique compound that is great off-road, smooth and quiet on-road, and will work to stick on icy surfaces as well. There are folks who go out and do the off-roading as a hobby, and the area we were in was set aside and established to be maintained as an off-roading haven. There are a lot of others who would probably love to do just that. There are also countless more pickup lovers who want and need their trucks for boat-hauling, or farm work, or taking off for the cabin in the northwoods. In the Raptor, Ford has created the ideal truck for any and every pickup use, with a 6,000-pound towing capacity. If you want to go off-roading, then instead of hauling your off-road vehicle out to the woods, rocks, or desert, your 5,900-pound “tow vehicle” itself is the off-roader. Just be careful – on the road or off – if your passenger asks why you aren't going faster. Because you might be. And doing it “unharshly,” at that. |
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