When Ford gives you Raptor keys, there is an instant rush of blood to the brain. Me!?
Yes!
The truck is absolutely gigantic even in shortie Supercab setup here. A half-foot wider and big step taller than any stock F-150 around. The cabin is the tiniest part of the huge widebody fenders, wide-track racing suspension and jumbo offroad tires.
It is quite an event — even just parked calmly in subtle magnetic grey.
What’s the first thing you do with a Raptor?
For me, it is Go find mud! A rock quarry with greenlight from the dudes working? YES!
It was a short burst of ESP OFF fun. It was just a half-dozen donuts in rocky wet earth. So normal, yet so amazing! Click play to see.
Smile is plastered on my face. The Raptor is absolutely fiercely grippy so took a stab of throttle to provoke. All 510 pound-feet arrive behind you and then… cleanly, easily sideways with a 20-foot-tall rooster tail of mud in your wake.
It was a hell of a test drive, indeed.
Curiously, for all the auto writers there… we were the only to get the car soppy wet with mud.
PHOTOS
In addition to the drive video below showing how sweet the 450HP and 10-speed autobox are, we have some photos to share. You must know, dear reader, that the goal when taking these was not just to ‘have some Raptor pics.’
No.
It was to take the best Raptor photos of all time. The cold-blooded heart of a beast 10 feet tall and sprinting to 60-mph in what felt like a BOOST blitz of six seconds dead.
Lofty goal? We have the mud, the camera and the truck. 200 flyaround photos later, and here we are down to the 82 here.
You be the judge and share this post if you think we captured the Raptor at its best.
2017 Ford F-150 RAPTOR 4×4 Supercab
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.