Trucks can most certainly be hot rods, off-roaders included, and Ford showed how to build a production hot rod truck last year when it debuted its SVT Raptor pickup. In a nutshell, it’s a 4×4 F-150 with a far more radical suspension than the base truck (aimed at the desert racing crowd), flared fenders, and graphics, and in our opinion is one of the best-looking new trucks you can buy (though it is pricey). The base engine was a 5.4 liter Triton V8 with an optional 411-hp 6.2. For 2011, the 6.2 is standard, you can now get the truck as a four-door SuperCrew version, and in a new Ingot Silver color.
he tough, chiseled look of the new Ford F-150 has been taken to a new level with F-150 SVT Raptor. The agile, performance truck was designed to give the impression it is always on the move.
Noticeable differences between the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor and conventional F-150 include a distinctive grille that has the Ford name carved into it; front bumper, vented hood, front fascia and fenders, functional hood extractors, fender extractors with ‘SVT’ bored out, as well as visible FOX Racing Shox, the only internal bypass shocks available on a street truck.
Ford trucks have been a mainstay on the off-road racing scene for more that 20 years because of our long history of capability and durability,’ said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president for Global Product Development. ‘With the F-150 SVT Raptor, we are delivering a true off-road performance truck with the proven ‘Built Ford Tough’ capability and durability that is at the core of every F-150 and the best in performance thanks to the team at SVT.’
