Ford unveils new F-150 Raptor R pickup with 700 horsepower

DETROIT — As Ford Motor ramps up manufacturing of its electric F-150 pickup, it isn’t giving up on providing new, extremely worthwhile efficiency fashions with gasoline engines.

The Detroit automaker Monday morning unveiled the F-150 Raptor R, a brand new model of its high-performance, off-road pickup with a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 engine that produces 700 horsepower and 640 foot-pounds of torque. The truck will begin at $109,145, together with vacation spot and supply costs.

Amid pent-up demand and record high prices, automakers have been including efficiency variants to their lineups to beef up revenue margins earlier than they transition extra to electrical automobiles, which might supply excessive efficiency however have decrease margins than gas-powered automobiles.

The brand new “R” model seems much like the corporate’s F-150 Raptor, but it surely contains some design tweaks and affords a major increase in efficiency and off-road elements. For comparability, the common 2022 F-150 Raptor is powered by a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine that produces 450 horsepower and 510 foot-pounds of torque. Ford mentioned the Raptor R’s high velocity is 112 mph, restricted by the automobile’s 37-inch tires.

Ford has largely dominated the high-performance pickup truck market since launching the primary Raptor mannequin in 2009. However lately, Stellantis‘ Ram Vehicles model has been grabbing headlines with its Ram 1500 TRX, a 702-horsepower pickup with supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine and 650 foot-pounds of torque.

The brand new Raptor falls simply shy of the efficiency of the Ram TRX, but it surely affords completely different efficiency elements. It is also the highest-powered engine Ford affords. The corporate beforehand used the engine for the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Carl Widmann, chief engineer of Ford efficiency, mentioned the automobile is the results of prospects “demanding the sound and energy of a V8 again in Raptor.” Ford hasn’t supplied a V-8 engine in a Raptor mannequin since 2014.

Manufacturing of the F-150 Raptor R will begin within the fall at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan, the corporate mentioned. Ordering for the automobile opens Monday by means of franchised Ford sellers.

Present Raptor vans begin at about $70,000 — round $40,000 over a base F-150 however cheaper than the highest luxurious model of the F-150 that begins at roughly $77,000.