The hard-core
off-roaders at Four Wheeler Magazine have gotten the low down on
a skunk works project at Ford to build and sell an uber off-road version
of the new F-150 to
the public. If the truck becomes a reality it could
make the already capable FX4 edition look like a crossover utility.
Ford engineers
have labored for months on the project, code named "Raptor".
The Raptor
F-150
is expected to feature a long-travel suspension, like desert
racers use in the Baja 1000. The extra travel in the suspension (potentially
twice as much as a conventional suspension) allows the truck to quickly
cross over rutted and hilly terrain.
Up until
now, long-travel suspensions have only been available through the aftermarket
as expensive retrofits of stock pickups. Ford is reported to be working
with long time suspension manufacturer Fox Racing, to ensure the best
of both factory and aftermarket engineering work well together when
the truck leaves the showroom floor.
Four Wheeler
says the truck is still a year-and-a-half to two-years out, but it
sounds like it will be well worth the wait.
Read
on to find out more
about the Raptor F-150 at Four Wheeler.
