2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2 - First Drive Review - Car and Driver
As the most radical off-road production pickup ever, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor can teach a person a lot of things. On a dreary Michigan day, lessons flowed like the rivulets of runoff coursing through our backwoods driving loop at Ford’s Romeo proving ground. Lesson 3: When life hands you a Raptor, sometimes you just gotta go nuts. Launched in 2009, the Raptor met with rave reviews everywhere it turned—or jumped, given its 11. 2 and 12. 1 inches of front and rear suspension travel, respectively. Ford’s antiquated 5. 4-liter V-8, with 310 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque, was adequate, but when the rest of the Raptor shines so brilliantly, “adequate” is as glaringly out of place as having Nickelback open for Mozart. The optional 6. 2-liter V-8, new for 2010, was in the plan all along, Ford tells us, and a quick turn behind the wheel seems to verify that. With 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque, it imbues the Raptor’s powertrain with the same unflinching capability as the long-travel suspension does the chassis. The Raptor’s 6. 2 is structurally identical to the 6. 2-liter in the 2011 Super Duty lineup, but its output is higher than the SD’s 385 hp and 405 lb-ft, thanks to unique cams and tuning. Although our slog through muddy Michigan woods didn’t give us the chance to experience the high-speed off-road stability demonstrated by the truck’s desert introduction , it proved that horsepower is helpful everywhere, and at much lower speeds... Source: www.caranddriver.com
