BOISE D'ARC CREEK, Ark.-Raptor? Ford's second iteration of its "purpose built" F-150 neither flutters nor flits nor flies like a bird; rather, it leaps, lands and races away like a tiger.
It has the playful personality of Tigger, only much smarter, more graceful, and with a thunderously deep voice. The latter emits from a true dual exhaust, not just a couple of pipes split off from the muffler, but two bazookas bolted to the manifolds of the all-new, 450-hp, 510 ft.-lb torque twin-turbo EcoBoost 3.5-L V-6.
This truck's true nature was revealed to me one afternoon as Boy Wonder and I guided a 2017 Ford Raptor back toward civilization from a romp through its natural habitat, in this case a starkly remote wildlife management area deep within as muddy a bog as can be found the Red River alluvial plain.
What began as a narrow, twisting, but well graded, gravel road-How better to showcase the Raptor's Baja-ready handling?-had degraded into a path slightly wider than a walking trail as we traversed wetlands soaked by recent rains. At a creek crossing there was no bridge, no rocks, just a sippy hole about half as long as the truck and, as it turned out, not quite as deep as the Raptor's ride height and suspension would allow.
Were we behind the wheel of an ordinary F-150, we might have gently crawled through the hole, feeling our way along. Alas, a normal F-150 is to the Raptor what Bruce Wayne is to Batman or, more aptly, as Bill Bixby's Dr. David Banner was to Lou Ferrigno's Hulk.
Crawl? Never! Lifting off the throttle a little, but still maintaining plenty of momentum, we flew into the mud hole. The front wheels bounded into the bottom and smoothly lifted us right back up to the other side.
In that briefest of moments, the "purpose" for which the Raptor was built was made clear. It is to get muddy. At high speed. And elicit whoops and hollers not dissimilar to Rebel battle cries.
Soon the road opened up again, and we gave the Raptor its head, letting it do what it does best, rip across the countryside at highway speeds.
Faced with several miles of untraveled, gently undulating gravel road, we decided to take our fingers off the magnesium paddle shifters and to let the Raptor do the thinking.
We selected Baja mode, one of six choices on the drive mode selector, and the truck put itself into 4WD high, dialed back the traction control and sharpened throttle response. At the same time, the 10-speed automatic (which can also be found in Chevy's new Camaro Z1) started talking to sensors and showed off its adaptive learning mode.
When we let off the throttle to enter a curve, the truck downshifted; as we steered into the apex, it downshifted again; when we lined up on the exit point and put the pedal to the floor, it found just the right gear again.
If we came out of a curve a little too hot, the truck seemed to find its spot, grab traction and head off again, like a cheetah rounding a turn in pursuit of an antelope. More whoops and hollers.
Leaner, meaner
Even though it hit showrooms when the auto industry was bottoming out in 2010, the original Raptor, developed by Ford's Special Vehicle Team, was a surprising hit. The first high-performance pickup with a factory warranty, the Raptor survived the Baja 1000 and still managed to be an acceptable everyday driver.
Production of the truck went away in the couple of years it took forward to redesign the base F-150 and retool the factories to build aluminum-body trucks. The new Raptor benefits from that change, weighing in 500 pounds lighter and riding on a stronger, high-strength steel chassis.
Ford engineers took an aggressive approach to suspension design. Ford Performance and FOX designed 44 percent larger shocks with 3-inch diameter canisters and nine-stage bypass damping. Integrated hydraulic bump stops minimize bottoming-out over rough terrain-hellooo, sippy hole.
The SVT crew also increased ride height, and approach, breakover and departure angles.
The chassis development team worked in concert with BF Goodrich to design KO2 tires that are exclusive to the Raptor. They are mounted on 17-inch forged ally beak-lock rims.
With that much attention to the undergirding, it comes as no surprise that a fully street-legal stock 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor completed the 49th Baja 1000, as well as four other desert races in the 2016 season. Minor modifications were made to comply with safety regulations, including a roll cage, light bar, fuel cell and minor shock changes to handle the additional weight of the safety equipment. The race truck ran on the stock KO2 tires.
The truck performed flawlessly during the Baja 1000 and finished the race in 35 hours, 59 minutes and 8 seconds to place third in the stock full class. The crew then drove the truck back to its home shop near Phoenix, almost 400 miles away.
The beast
The engine architecture is similar to the 375-hp, 470 lb-ft torque 3.5-liter V-6 that powers many an F-150, but the Raptor's motor is filled with goodies, letting it roar from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, and cover a quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at 97.3 mph.
High output modifications include piston-cooling oil jets, which accommodate the oomph of higher boost turbochargers. A dual fuel strategy, both port and direct fuel injection improves power, efficiency and cleaner emissions.
Fuel economy is up 23 percent from the previous model, to 15 mpg city and 18 highway. We can attest that if one puts one's foot to the pedal enough, those numbers quickly fall into the single digits.
A new bottom end includes crankshaft and bearing upgrades plus a two-piece oil pan for improved robustness. Up top, a new lightweight cam and dual-chain cam drive design saves weight and reduces parasitic friction loss.
And then there's that dual exhaust, one of the fiercest and most satisfying growls ever to emit from Detroit muscle.
Rolling man cave
The cabin is comfortable and a technological tour de force. Seats are deep, firm and well bolstered. The dash and gauges are cleanly laid out and easy to read. The upgraded sound system is simply one of the nicest we have ever heard, with authoritative but not booming lows, crisp mids and well defined highs.
We found Ford's SYNC 3 voice-activated communications and entertainment system a breeze to learn and use. It offers advanced smartphone integration to Apple CarPlay/Android Auto for improved device integration and flexibility.
We are also big fans of Ford's 360-view camera system that allows all-around exterior visibility for improved maneuverability. It's something ever off-roader should have. If you happened to spot our Raptor in a parking lot, it was the pickup parked squarely in the middle of its allotted space.
The verdict
The Raptor isn't for everyone. It starts at $49,250 for a nicely equipped crew cab model. Start picking from a list of highly desirable options, and a new Raptor can easily ease past $63.000.
That's a lot of money for a "purpose built" truck, but here are is a piece of good news. The original Raptors retained nearly 88 percent of value after two years.
This one will probably do better.
Come to think of it, perhaps the Raptor is properly named.
On my last day with the truck I took it to a lumber yard and wound up parking nose-to-nose with a full sized Toyota (which was somewhat askew to its allotted space). As I began to walk away, I looked back at the Ford, soaking in the cumulative effect of its aggressive lines, muscular stance and lights that resemble a Hawk's eyes.
I put my hand on the rear fender, leaned over and whispered to the Raptor.
"Don't eat it."