Ford Raptor R Arrives to Eat the Ram TRX's Lunch - Let the SuperTruck Wars Begin!

Hi folks, welcome to the channel and an exciting Truck King news update. Ford has just dropped some big news on us. Before I show you, just listen. That sound is a rumbling V8 and it's going to be under the hood of this, the brand new Ford Raptor R. This desert eating monster is going to come with a 5.2 liter supercharged V8, putting out 700 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque, thanks to a 10-speed automatic transmission. And if that engine sounds familiar, that's because it first did duty in the Shelby GT500 Mustang and now they've adapted it for the Raptor. They didn't just stick in the engine out of that sports car though. For the truck, this engine gets things like a cast stainless exhaust, a unique oil cooler and filter, a deeper oil pan and a 66% increase in air intake. So what is Ford really going for with the Raptor? Well, they tell us directly. Right in the press release, the brand says that the F-150 Raptor has been inspired by the extreme desert racing trophy trucks that run in the Baja 1000. The 2023 F-150 Raptor is the closest yet to delivering that type of performance. Inside of the powertrain, there's a whole number of components that have been beefed up here on the Raptor. There's a new front axle, there's a larger diameter drive shaft, a specially tuned torque converter and the list goes on and on because a number of components had to be upgraded to accept all of that new power. When it comes to wheels and tires, the Raptor R will skip the 35s and go straight for the 37s as standard equipment. In this case, a set of BF Goodrich All-Terrain T8 KO2s. Now, fuel economy has not been revealed for this new Raptor R, but we do know that the Raptor with 37s already gets 15 miles per gallon combined. So we know also that this truck is going to be even worse than that considering it has that much more power. Now, the other important off-road numbers here on the Raptor, they do not change. The truck still gets an impressive 13.1 inches of ground clearance, a 33.1 degree approach angle, 24.9 degree departure and a 24.5 degree breakover angle. Now, when it comes to wheel travel, you're getting 13 inches in the front and 14.1 in the rear with those 37-inch tires. Obviously, you've already seen the truck, but it has some unique styling cues like a larger dome hood, those code orange accents. Inside, you're getting standard Recaro seats. Those are finished in black leather and Alcantara suede. There's also genuine carbon fiber accents, and really this truck looks nice. There's a standard 12-inch touchscreen too with Sync 4, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. Now, when it comes to drive modes, there's a whole number of them. First of all, there's four different settings just for the exhaust, normal, sport, quiet, and Baja. And then, of course, you have all the different driving modes for the truck. And now, a new feature Ford is introducing is called My Modes. This allows you to adjust the drive mode, the steering, the suspension, and other things, and then save them preset into the Raptor, and they're going to be accessible thanks to an R button on the steering wheel. So you're going to tune that thing exactly the way you want it, hit that R button, and it'll jump right into that setting. Ford's entire off-road toolbox is here too with things like trail control, that's off-road cruise control, trail turn assist, that will break the inside rear wheel to help you really pivot around a corner, and then trail one pedal drive. Of course, that means you don't need to touch the brake, just focus on the gas, and the truck will do the rest. Order books for the new Raptor are opened today, and production is set to begin in late 2022 at the Dearborn truck plant. Pricing for the new truck has not been revealed yet, so we expect that closer to the launch date, but don't expect this truck to come cheap. Now folks, that is it for this one. I think since Ram launched the TRX, this Raptor R has been inevitable. In fact, since Ford took the V8 out of the Raptor, people have been clamoring to get it back, and I think it kind of took Ram going there to push Ford there, and now finally here we are. So we're really going to have the battle of the super trucks once we can get a 700 horsepower TRX versus 700 horsepower Raptor, and that's a video I hope I can bring to you. Like I said folks, that's it for this one. Now please go below, let me know what you think of this new crazy Raptor. As always, don't forget to hit like, hit subscribe, hit join to become a member. Hey, check us out on Facebook because we're really active over there too, and then as always, don't forget to come back here to the channel to see what we're testing next because you never know what it might be.