Since 2010, it’s been a mononym for off-road badassery, first appearing on an F-150 before spreading to the Ranger and Bronco. However, Ford’s not stopping there, and is now posing a question — what would an entirely unique Raptor racing vehicle look like, completely unshackled from the constrictions a production-spec truck has to face? The result is the Ford Raptor T1+, a purpose-built rally raid truck built for the Dakar.
See, the Raptor T1+ isn’t like any other vehicle bearing the Raptor name. It has a steel spaceframe, carbon fiber panels, even the engine’s not shared with any other Raptor. In fact, it’s a modified dry-sump version of Ford’s venerable five-liter Coyote V8. When you’re planning on covering vast distances over inhospitable terrain, it helps to have an engine that’s already proven itself in half-ton pickup trucks and frequently hooned Mustangs.
Keeping all that power under control is unique double-wishbone suspension at all four corners, with Fox external bypass remote reservoir dampers keeping a tight lid on blows from the terrain. We’re looking at up to 13.8 inches of wheel travel, beefy-looking hardware, and the right sort of stuff to go off-road fast, all the way down to the 37-inch tires.
Of course, going fast is only so good if you can’t stop fast, so the Ford Raptor T1+ features the sort of braking hardware you’d normally expect to see on hardcore sports cars. While 14-inch discs aren’t the largest anyone’s ever seen, they’re still beefy, and they’re clamped at both axles by six-piston monoblock calipers. Not shabby at all.
The end result is a 4,431-pound off-road beast with 15.75 inches of ground clearance, an approach angle of more than 70 degrees, and styling that’s absolutely nothing short of badass. Ford claims to have already completed more than 6,213 miles of testing, which means the Raptor T1+ is more or less primed for one of the toughest off-road races in the world — the Dakar Rally.
Admittedly, the Dakar Rally doesn’t actually start in Paris end in Dakar anymore, due to some serious security concerns about 15 years back including alleged threats from an organization most people are familiar with — al-Qaeda. Consequently, the rally was moved to South America in 2010, and then to Saudi Arabia in 2020. However, the desert terrain of Saudi Arabia is still properly gnarly stuff, so Ford is planning its preparations carefully.
To start, the Raptor T1+ will be run in both Baja Hungary and Rallye du Maroc to really test its mettle before getting to Dakar. Of course, a competition machine is only as good as the people piloting it, so Ford’s enlisted some top-notch drivers to get behind the wheel, including Carlos Sainz Sr. and Dakar champion Nani Roma. Expect to see the Ford Raptor T1+ make its competition debut in August, as it plots a course for Dakar domination.
(Photo credits: Ford)
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