And now, on the completely opposite end of the ‘Lightning’ spectrum…
While Ford just technically dropped the F-150 Lightning pickup at a Rouge plant event, more is also emerging on the high-horsepower beast some of you are more eagerly anticipating. This other piece of information concerns the V8-powered F-150 Raptor R, which is also set to debut in a few months.
Straight to the point? The 2022 Ford Raptor R may have the 5.2-liter supercharged ‘Predator’ V8 from the Mustang Shelby GT500, according to people with knowledge of the truck’s development cycle. Supposedly, Ford also plans to fit this Raptor with a 3.55 rear end, which would put it almost exactly toe-to-toe with the Ram 1500 TRX. In the Mustang, that V8 puts out 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque. If the engineers left it alone (I seriously doubt they will), that state of tune would put Ford back in front on the horsepower war. That said, we could see a retune from the top-dog Mustang so the Raptor R produces a bit less power, but more than the TRX’s 650 lb-ft of torque.
The actual, final power specs are anyone’s guess until Ford actually confirms it. What we now know with relative certainty, though, is that these two trucks will more or less have parity with each other on paper. How that translates to the real world, we’ll have to wait and see. But just as an electric F-150 is exciting news for some folks, so too is the ever-certain revelation that the 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor R will be a total beast, without a doubt.
Now we just need GM to come out and play with their own high-power truck.
