[Photos] 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor Arrives This Summer

*Metallica intensifies*
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If you were waiting for Ford to spill the beans on a version of the F-150 Raptor that can eat the Ram 1500 TRX for lunch, you’ll hafta wait just a skosh longer. Ford has exactly six words (well, five words and one letter) to say about that truck: “Raptor R is coming next year.” Fortunately, the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor is coming sooner than that, and guess what? It’ll whet your appetite just fine.

Hungry for Adventure? So is the new 2021 Ford Ranger Tremor Off-Road

So how powerful is the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor? Well, we don’t know yet. We do know, definitively, that it’s getting the beefed-up high-output twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 with a 10.5:1 compression ratio and improved cooling, so you can expect it to hit somewhere north of 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. And just in case you’re looking at this absolute monster and thinking yeah, okay, but how good is it on gas, Ford handily notes that it can go about 500 miles on a full tank.

Now that we’ve gotten fuel economy out of the way, let’s talk about the other stuff. Like the fact that the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor gets an all-new five-link rear suspension with longest-in-class 24-inch coil springs. And next-gen FOX Live Valve shocks with position-sensitive damping and better heat resistance.

Oh, and standard 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires or optional 37-inch tires. Yeah, 37 inches. With those massive rubbers, the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor gets 13.1 inches of ground clearance, a 33.1-degree approach angle, a 24.9-inch departure angle, and a 24.4-inch breakover angle. A reasonable takeaway: holy crap.

• Exit night
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• Enter night
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• Kick up sand
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• Touch that steering wheel with your hand
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Not enough? Ford’s serving up the third-gen F-150 Raptor with some of the best advances offered across the new 2021 F-150 lineup. That includes an available 2.0-kilowatt Pro Power Onboard generator, a 12-inch digital gauge cluster, a 12-inch center touch screen with split-screen functionality, and SYNC 4 with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Another Awesome New F-150 Feature: Max Recline Seats are perfect for catching up on ZZZs

Bolstering all that desert-running goodness is a full suite of off-road-ready technologies. You get your standard Terrain Management System with seven selectable settings — including Baja and Rock Crawl. You also get Trail Control and Trail 1-Pedal Drive, which make torching trails even easier. And with SYNC 4’s over-the-air update capabilities, there’s more where that come from with possible upgrades like Trail Turn Assist and trail maps for navigation.

Ford revealed the all-new third-gen F-150 Raptor on Wednesday morning in fitting enough fashion: With a nearly three-minute YouTube video featuring Kirk Hammett’s extra crunchy riffs from “Enter Sandman.” This is a different kind of ASMR from Ford’s current F-150 campaign, and you know what? It shreds. Metallica and Ford: It’s a match.

Ford says that the 2021 F-150 Raptor will be upon us this summer. Like we need another reason to look ahead.

Richard Bazzy is the face of Shults Ford, the No. 1 Ford dealer in Pittsburgh and all of Pennsylvania. Known for his unique approach to selling cars and his penchant for cowboy hats, Richard runs Shults Ford of Harmarville, Shults Ford Lincoln of Wexford, and Shults Ford South. Visit his YouTube channel​ and see just how well Richard Bazzy can yee a haw.