Ford Confirms New F-150 Raptor is Coming
Photo: Ford
Noticeably absent from last week’s reveal of the all-new Ford F-150: any discussion of the revamped F-150 Raptor. This led some to conclude straight off that there would not be a Raptor for the 2021 model year, as if they were playing around with Tom Smykowski’s Jump to Conclusions map. Fortunately, Ford has weighed in and is quite succinct about the likelihood of a new F-150 Raptor.
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“Yes, there will be a Raptor and we’ll have more details to share at a later date,” a Ford spokesperson told Autoblog in response to the rumor.
So, yeah, that seems like a pretty straightforward confirmation.
Since Ford views the Raptor as an icon brand unto itself, a la the Mustang and Bronco, it makes some sense to hold off the reveal of the revamped F-150 Raptor long enough to let the F-150 breathe.
And why not, after all? Between the PowerBoost hybrid V6 and the near-180-degree sleeper seat and the Active Drive Assist hands-free feature and the Power Pro Onboard generator and … well, there’s a lot to take in with the new F-150. Whenever it does bow, the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor will make a nice splash all its own, so Ford may as well spread the wealth a bit between now and launch.
New F-150 Raptor will have stiff competition
Photo: Ford
When the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor does arrive, it’ll have competition in the form of the new Ram TRX, which sports the Hellcat’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8 to deliver more than 700 horsepower. Ford was rumored to be kicking around the idea of putting the Shelby GT500’s 760-horsepower V8 into a special-edition version of the Raptor, and the TRX could possibly push that closer to a must so that Ford can maintain its status as the supreme of the truck realm. The current Ford F-150 Raptor sports a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6, which is no slouch at 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque.
As for whether the new Ford F-150 Raptor would hit early enough to join the 2021 model year or drop later next year as a 2022 model, that all remains to be seen. What matters most is that it’s coming.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.