Cargazing
By Derek Price
Before this year, Ford’s F-150 Raptor was already the exotic supercar of the pickup world.
Flashy, fast and pricey, the Raptor is what I imagine Ferrari or McLaren would build if they wanted to create a truck for American tastes, complete with believable claims of its race-inspired roots.
For 2023, it gets even more exotic with the introduction of the fastest F-150 Raptor ever, the R.
The original Raptor built its reputation on mimicking the incredible machines that compete in the Baja 1000, with their long-travel suspensions, earth-shaking engines and ability to withstand the brutal beating that comes from high-speed blasts through the desert.
The Raptor R is the closest thing you can get to that Baja experience in a factory-built, street-legal truck.
To create something even wilder and more ridiculous — in a good way — than the standard Raptor, Ford Performance didn’t have to look far for the right engine. They picked the most powerful source in their stable, a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 that previously was used in the Shelby GT500 Mustang.
Despite its ever-so-slight horsepower disadvantage, the Ford Raptor R is faster than its competitor from Ram. It plucked a 700-horsepower V8 from the Shelby GT500 Mustang to deliver ridiculous off-road performance.
In the Raptor R, it’s tuned to deliver 700 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. That’s a huge advantage over the standard Raptor’s 450 horsepower from a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6.
Weirdly, though, Ford decided not to engage in its usual truck-power one-upmanship. The Raptor R’s only real competitor in the marketplace is the Ram TRX that makes 702 horsepower, and it seems out of character for Ford to refrain from squeezing three extra horses out of its V8 engine just for bragging rights. That’s some unusual restraint.
Maybe part of the reason for that confidence is that even with an oh-so-slight power disadvantage to the TRX, the Raptor R is still considerably faster. The mightiest Ford truck weighs hundreds of pounds less than the mightiest Ram, no doubt because of all the work Ford did years ago to create an aluminum-intensive design for the F-150.
In Motor Trend’s testing, the Raptor R sprinted from 0-60 mph in a supercar-like 3.7 seconds. That’s .4 seconds faster than the Ram TRX, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s an 11-percent difference. You can really feel it from the driver’s seat.
Driving the Raptor R feels like saddling up a dragon and riding it in a rodeo. It’s not only quick thanks to its astounding horsepower, but it also feels somewhat magical thanks to the best suspension ever fitted to a factory-built truck, a FOX shock absorber setup that lets the wheels travel 13 inches in front and 14.1 inches in back.
Electronic wizardry helps the shocks adapt to the terrain hundreds of times per second, and it creates a bizarre, almost surreal feeling when you mash the gas pedal in a field and let the FOX suspension do its thing. The Raptor R floats over ruts and hills that would destroy other trucks, or at least destroy the occupants inside.
Real carbon fiber accents set the Raptor R’s interior apart from other models.
It also sounds like a Raptor should, with a deep, loud, honest V8 growl that many people have missed since the standard F-150 Raptor switched to V6s years ago.
As if the loudness from a Shelby V8 isn’t attention-getting enough, the Raptor R also adds some visual appeal to turn more heads.
Flashy graphics on the side and a big, noticeable power dome on the hood make the Raptor R look so assertive that it borders on violent. This is a truck that can do some damage, and it looks the part.
Inside, real carbon fiber trim and the Raptor’s signature Code Orange accents help it stand out.
Clearly, the Raptor R is not built for fuel economy. It’s rated for 10 mpg in city driving and 15 on the highway.
Just as clearly, the Raptor R isn’t cheap. Ford is suggesting a retail price of roughly $109,000 for it, which is about $30,000 more than the standard F-150 Raptor.
As if that’s not expensive enough, deep-pocketed buyers reportedly have been bidding thousands over MSRP for the privilege of driving the first of these super-trucks.
At A Glance
What was tested? 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4×4 Super Crew ($75,775). Options: Equipment Group 802A ($31,575), power moonroof and tailgate ($2,195), spray-in bed liner ($595). Price as tested (including $1,795 destination charge): $111,935
Wheelbase: 145.4 in.
Length: 232.6 in.
Width: 96 in.
Height: 80.6 in.
Engine: 5.2-liter supercharged V8 (700 hp, 640 lbs.-ft.)
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 10 city, 15 highway
RATINGS
Style: 9
Performance: 10
Price: 3
Handling: 7
Ride: 9
Comfort: 7
Quality: 7
Overall: 9
Why buy it?
It starts with one of the quickest, craziest pickups ever built and adds even more mind-bending speed from a 700-horsepower V8. It’s wild fun.