2025 Ford F-150 Raptor

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APEX PREDATOR!

The faithful Ford F-150 pickup truck has won just about every award and honor in its long history. The original Model TT chassis cab truck first appeared in 1917 with a one-ton payload capacity and room for three passengers. It evolved into the first F-series in 1948 for consumer use becoming America's work truck. Many incarnations followed to get us to the Fourteenth Generation seen today.

Roaring out of Michigan with five engine options in 2021, the current F-150 included four V6 versions and a mighty 5.0-liter V8. A Hybrid model joined the lineup as well as the all-electric Lightning model. Now at the top of its game as America's top selling vehicle for 47 consecutive years, the F-150 brings back the off-road champion known as the Raptor and introduces the wild Raptor R model.
Designed to take on any terrain with awesome ease, the Raptor is as at home racing across the desert as it is traversing rocky mountains and fording streams. Launched with a meaty 450-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 married to a flawless 10-speed transmission, the Raptor rides on exclusive long-travel suspension. Available Fox Dual Live Valve dampers are built to take on anything you can throw at this amazing truck. Its off-road ready 35-inch tires are amazingly smooth on paved roads and 37-inchers are available. 

For 2024 the Raptor got totally refreshed looks, new headlamps, wider tow hooks, and those Fox Dual Live shocks. It is such a mind-bending combination that Ford decided to let the Raptor roll unchanged and unchained for 2025.

The Raptor R

But wait, there's more! Just when you thought that Ford had reached the absolute limit with this bad boy, there's one more step over the edge of reason to take with what the automaker calls the Raptor R (that might stand for Righteous or Revved up). The R version appears with a ground-shaking 720-horsepower supercharged Predator V8 with 37-inch tires as standard. Those extra horses pump up the towing capacity to an astounding 8,700 pounds! 

Both the Raptor and the Raptor R are only available as a SuperCrew crew-cab with four-wheel drive. While the Raptor is a spendy beast with an MSRP starting at $80,900, the R Trim costs about 40 percent more at $112,725. Is the R worth the extra loot? That's for you to decide. The R's bigger, badder, V8 offers 55 percent more horsepower, uniquely tuned exhaust, as well as unique graphics and badging, plus there's the option of a slick Carbon Fiber package.
Pure Performance
The Raptor R gets its supercharged 5.2-liter V8 from Ford's Shelby GT500 Mustang, tuned to a staggering 720 horses with 640-pound feet of torque. While the standard Raptor rides on 17-inch rims and 35-inch tires, the R gets 37-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K02 all-terrain tires which gives the truck outstanding grip and hella breakover angles. Those higher tires add to its ground clearance significantly.

Ford Performance has tuned the Fox internal-bypass dampers and five-link rear coil/spring suspension to perfection. The Raptor R has awe-inspiring traction capabilities over any terrain. When it comes to all out grunt, the standard Raptor's V6 has an EPA estimated zero to 60 mph time of 5.2 seconds while the amped up R model's supercharged V8 will get you there in a scant 3.6 seconds.

As for fuel economy, what do you expect from a big truck that's built for crazy adventures? We're talking an EPA estimated 14 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway while the big V8 R model only gets you 10 mpg city and 15 mpg highway. Both versions use the same 36-gallon gas tank.

On the Road and Off

Before launching this monster truck into action, we should mention that the Raptor R's mighty 720 horse V8 does indeed require premium fuel in its 36-gallon gas tank, and it sucks up that petrol really quickly. Once on the road, the Raptor is extremely comfortable and gives you a very smooth ride even with those massive tires. 

It is very configurable with seven Drive Modes, three for on road driving and four for off-roading. You'll find such Drive Modes as Normal, Sport, Slippery, Sand, Tow/Haul, Off-Road, Rock Crawl, and even Baja Mode for extreme off-roading. All are designed to make sure your Raptor is ready to tackle anything from engine response, transmission settings, ABS sensitivity, and traction control calibration. The modes even change the view of the instrument cluster, and the feel of the brakes and steering.

For pure testosterone thrills, take the truck out into the wild, switch to Baja Mode, and hit the gas. What happens next is a truly wild ride like nothing you've ever experienced. The R does everything exceedingly well and makes us think that the R might stand for "Ridiculous" regarding the power, precision, and striking control offered at the wheel of this mad monster.

Even after you've parked the Raptor R, the sound of its bellowing V8 throaty exhaust scream will echo in your memory and the sheer joy of piloting this crazy primal thing will leave you with an addiction for off-road speed the likes of which humankind has never experienced before. 

A day of off-roading in the Raptor R is pure Ford magic. Is this King of Trucks worth the $112,725 asking price? Oh yes. Yes, it is… because you will get more smiles per gallon than in any truck on or off the road.
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