When Ford announced the refreshed 2024 Ford F-150, the company promised that it was improving the core essentials but without sacrificing some of the foundational DNA that has made the truck popular with a large pool of buyers. Tech, style and performance were prominent areas that got updated for the new model year, but Ford still kept the full performance picture under wraps. That’s changed, with the company officially revealing the full details of the Raptor R which not only thunders onto the scene with more power but also enhanced trail-ready capability to please thrill-seekers.
Raptor R Follows F-150’s Script For Exterior and Interior Changes
The main F-150 lineup paved the way in terms of overall changes and buyers will see a very familiar script when they look at the R version. The R gets the same exterior changes that define the rest of the F-150 family with the front end getting a more squared-off look that’s paired with reworked headlights while the rear also getting tweaked taillights and the same treatment we saw on the front end.
As a whole, the Raptor R’s exterior changes are largely limited to badging and other exterior tweaks, and at first glance, you would be hard-pressed to identify it as an R when compared to the standard Raptor which was also largely the case with the outgoing model. The interior is also carried over from the V6-powered Raptor and it too benefits from the same updates that defined the standard F-150. As a result, there’s not a whole lot to talk about here but that’s not a bad thing since the Raptor R will continue to wow buyers with solid essentials and segment-leading technology.
Upping The Firepower and Taking The Throne
The bulk of the updates are found under the hood with Ford confirming that the Raptor R is now the most powerful off-road truck on the market today. While part of that is due to the Ram TRX leaving the market due to the arrival of the next-gen Ram 1500), Ford is also boasting a new engine calibration and reduced power loss from the air inlets with Ford engineers changing the hood and body closeout panel. The end result is a beefed-up 720 hp which is 18 horses more than last year and all of this power still comes from the Shelby GT500’s 5.2-liter supercharged V8 which also continues to be mated to a 10-speed automatic.
Torque remains unchanged at 640 lb-ft (the TRX still manages to beat it by 10 lb-ft) but Ford is promising more responsiveness from the engine especially in the upper reaches of the rev band. In the past, Ford engineers claimed that the installation of the 5.2-liter into the truck forced engineers to trade peak power for raw torque. The boost in power appears to suggest that engineers have perhaps found a solution to try and balance out the bell curve between power and torque. The suspension has also been upgraded as well and Ford claims it now delivers more responsiveness and comfort to buyers.
When Can I Buy A Raptor R?
Ordering for the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor lineup is now open. Like the outgoing model, the R needs to be selected via the standard Raptor’s configurator with the swap being found in the powertrain portion of the configurator. A base model starts at over $78,000 with taxes and fees factored in but if a buyer goes all in and gets the R, they’ll see the final price tag go up to over $111,000 before any extras are factored in.
Look for more details to emerge over the next few months and we look forward to seeing if any of these improvements can help add more edge and polish to the Raptor R formula.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.