The Ford Raptor T+ Is A V8-Powered Rally Raider
The Raptor has been unleashed.
Ford has borrowed the name from its high performance truck lineup for a new purpose-built race truck designed to take on the Dakar Rally.
The simply-named Raptor T+ has a steel space frame, carbon fiber body panels and a Coyote V8-based competition engine.
It rides on a double wishbone suspension equipped with Fox remote-reservoir external bypass shocks and has more than 15 inches of ground clearance thanks in part to a set of 37-inch tires.
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A prominent steel skid plate and 70-degree approach angle are ready for dune bashing out in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
The truck is being built in collaboration M-Sport, which fields Ford’s vehicles in the World Rally Championship, and will be sponsored by Red Bull, Ford’s future partner in Formula One.
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“Taking on such a demanding race like Dakar is a daunting task for all of us at Ford Performance, but we have never shirked a challenge,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, said in a news release.
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“To embrace this challenge, we have partnered with the best in the world with M-Sport and Red Bull and I think it shows how seriously we are taking this project. The Ford Raptor T1+ is a stake in the ground for our global off-road vision – we want to take on the best and prove ourselves in the toughest places on earth.
Ford will enter two trucks in the event. Rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr. will be in one with Lucas Cruz navigating, while Dakar specialist Nani Roma and navigator Alex Haro will be in the other truck.
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The trucks will be entered in the Baja Hungary rally in August and Rallye du Maroc in October as final shakedowns before heading to Saudi Arabia for the start of the Dakar Rally on January 4.
Ford currently offers Raptor versions for three of its production truck models, the Ranger, Bronco and F-150.
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