Review: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R shoves extra energy on the drawback

The 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor arrived with an issue. It had been surpassed by the Ram TRX and not marked peak truck.

In probably the most American resolution doable, Ford has thrown extra energy on the Raptor to create the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R and thus solved the problem.

That roar you heard Last Monday was me within the 700-hp Raptor R. Sorry, not sorry.

The Raptor R shoves a supercharged V-8 beneath the hood of the Blue Oval’s totally loaded, Baja-inspired pickup and supersizes the value to $109,375 to place the Raptor again within the hunt as one of the crucial ridiculous vehicles cash should purchase.

Ford unleashed me in a Raptor R at Michigan’s Silver Lake State Park to tear via sand dunes and fly via the air. It grew to become a contest of which limits could be reached first: mine or the truck’s.

Finally, V-8 fireplace and fury

As the hole between the lead Raptor R and mine widened on the pitch black freeway at 6:15 am, I mashed the Raptor R’s go pedal. The truck’s entrance finish visibly lifted because the rear squatted and the truck shot ahead. Running in Baja mode with the exhaust baffles open, the exhaust roared to decibel ranges that might positively annoy the neighbors and perhaps alert any native police.

Laughing maniacally I mentioned to nobody, “Hey! Ford fixed the Raptor’s power problem.” The Raptor R is terrific in its outrageousness.

The Raptor’s twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, with its completely satisfactory 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque, has been forged apart for R responsibility. Bye, Felicia.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R contains a 2.7-liter supercharger slapped onto of the V-8 engine

In its place is the Mustang Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 rated at 700 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque. Yes, that’s 2 hp lower than the Ram TRX.

When I requested Carl Widmann, chief engineer of Ford’s Performance division, if it actually would’ve been that massive a deal to tune the engine to 705 hp, he simply laughed. After all, the Raptor R weighs roughly 400 lb lower than the TRX.

Widmann’s response is smart after spending time each on- and off-road within the Raptor R. Just a few further horsepower would’ve solely been for bragging rights. The Raptor R feels noticeably lighter on its rubber ft than the TRX in each dynamic transitions and normal experience high quality.

While the engine makes use of the identical 2.7-liter, water-cooled, inverted supercharger spinning as much as 12 psi of increase because the muscle automobile, it’s been revised for off-road truck responsibility. Mustangs don’t bounce into the air, deal with steep grades, or tear via the desert on sand at excessive speeds.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R – Photo by Perry Stern

A brand new supercharger pulley will increase low- and mid-range torque in comparison with the Shelby. Unlike the TRX, supercharger whine isn’t at all times current within the cabin and might solely be heard when particularly listening for it. The Raptor R’s energy additionally doesn’t whack immediately, but it surely hits laborious and shoves occupants, together with every part else within the truck, backward after a slight beat for the supercharger to spool.

To maintain issues lubed and cooled, Ford put in a brand new oil cooler and filter, together with a deeper oil pan. For higher respiration, a brand new, wider air consumption is paired with a high-flow conical air filter, translating to 66% extra consumption quantity than the Mustang.

It’s no shock, however the supercharged V-8’s fireplace and fury will value massive cash even after spending six figures to purchase the Raptor R. While off-roading, the supercharged V-8 guzzled gas at a speedy charge of lower than 3 mpg. For those that really feel which may not be a good evaluation, throughout 85 miles of freeway driving, the journey laptop mentioned I averaged 11.9 mpg. EPA gas financial system rankings aren’t obtainable but. As a actuality verify, these are much like the numbers we’ve seen in a TRX, and never that a lot worse than a turbo V-6 Raptor. Stay tuned for extra real-world testing sooner or later.

The 10-speed computerized transmission has a brand new calibration to cope with the additional energy, however like in the usual Raptor, the gear shifts are speedy, at all times on level, and develop into sharper in Sport and Baja modes. To guarantee issues don’t go increase, a heavy-duty turbine damper and four-pinion rear output meeting have been added to the torque converter. Ford additionally swapped in a 5.0-inch aluminum driveshaft (customary Raptors run a 4.5-inch driveshaft) together with a pinion snubber to maintain issues from shifting an excessive amount of throughout laborious launches.

Speaking of launches, the Raptor R lacks launch management. The TRX has it, however Widmann advised MA the workforce is targeted on off-road efficiency: “Why would you want launch control?” This isn’t a dragstrip truck, the engineer famous.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R has loads of squish on its delicate suspension and 37-inch tires

Dive, squat, thrash, repeat

With its enhanced energy the Raptor R squats, dives, and rolls just like the street-legal trophy truck it emulates. All it took was one other two cylinders, a supercharger, and 250 hp.

The Raptor’s Fox shocks with distant reservoirs carry over to the R, however the supercharged mannequin sees the entrance spring charge elevated by 5% to account for the V-8 powertrain’s further 100 lb or so on the entrance axle.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R options the identical brake system as the usual Raptor

Ford hasn’t upgraded the brakes from the usual Raptor regardless of the elevated energy. In what I might take into account excessive however restricted testing, two different journalists and I drag raced via the sand constantly for practically half-hour. I constantly pushed the Raptor R to about 70 mph earlier than operating out of house and slamming on the brakes. The brakes by no means light, however I might odor them after repeatedly hauling practically 6,000 lb of pickup again to actuality.

To make sure the entrance axle handles the elevated velocity that can include the elevated energy, Ford makes use of a finned aluminum entrance differential cowl to dissipate warmth. Ford additionally swaps in stiffer entrance axle bushings and an inner journey limiter.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R – Photo by Perry Stern

Even with 13 inches of journey up entrance and 14.1 inches within the rear, I bottomed out the Raptor R’s entrance finish 3 times in about 5 hours of off-roading. It’s in a position to carry a lot velocity that potential risks arrive rapidly. In two of the three cases, I launched the truck into the air, and the opposite occurred after cresting a sand dune and heading into one other whereas carrying far an excessive amount of velocity. The truck didn’t care and neither did Ford engineers who famous that’s what bash plates are for.

Unlike the extra pedestrian Raptor (phrases I by no means thought I’d kind), the R mannequin solely comes on squishy 37-inch tires. There isn’t any 35-inch rubber choice, which on the non-R mannequin is the extra enjoyable choice due to much less tire weight and the flexibility to rotate faster within the sand. The further energy of the R solves most of that drawback as the additional weight of the 37s isn’t felt as a lot whereas giving the truck an strategy angle of 33 levels and an additional 1.3 inches of floor clearance over a Raptor on 35s.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R – Photo by Perry Stern

Yes, it may be loud

After spending a day blasting over and thru sand dunes, I feel the Raptor R is perhaps too loud. I should be getting previous.

Widdman advised me at full throttle in Baja mode (which has the lively exhaust dumps open) the exhaust reaches 80 db within the cab and 130 db on the ideas. As a degree of reference, Silver Lake State Park’s exhaust noise restrict is 94 db, not that anybody however me appeared to note that bullet level on the map with the park guidelines.

The second-generation Raptor constructed from 2017 to 2020, with its twin-turbo V-6, didn’t sound good. Ford knew it, and we knew it. The present gen-three truck fastened that subject with a brand new exhaust system that includes a “trumpet” design and equal-length tubing. The result’s a sound virtually like a straight-piped Nissan GT-R combined with a Z.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R’s exhaust options

The Raptor R dumps the turbo V-6 truck’s trumpet and contains a straight design with “packed tips.” Widdman defined the packed ideas characteristic baffling and muffler filler-like materials that mix to assist take out high-frequency noise and sizzle.

With Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja modes, the truck can run with the baffles utterly closed, barely open, extra open, or totally open, and the baffles are at all times open above 4,000 rpm no matter mode. It will default to Normal mode except programmed to begin in Quiet mode. While Normal mode positively gives a bark upon startup, it’s tame in comparison with the TRX, and at idle it’s downright mellow. Opening up the dumps in Baja mode sounds higher basically, however it may border on tiring as I skilled whereas burying the throttle again and again off-road. On street, even in Baja mode, the exhaust doesn’t appear to increase or drone, however we’ll want extra time with the truck in the true world to actually decide that.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R will probably be laborious to identify from an ordinary Raptor

A sleeper Raptor?

It looks like a stretch to name any Raptor a sleeper, however it would take a eager eye to inform an R mannequin from an ordinary Raptor.

Visually, the one variations between a Raptor R and an ordinary Raptor are blacked-out trim, orange tow hooks, a 1.0-inch taller hood vent, tiny R badges on the grille and tailgate, and obtainable R-specific fender and hood graphics with V-8 slathered throughout them.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R’s inside will really feel acquainted to anybody having hung out in a F-150

Inside, the Raptor R is provided like a loaded Raptor, together with the Recaro entrance seats, suede and leather-based seating surfaces, carbon-fiber trim, a 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster, and a 12.0-inch touchscreen.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R simply desires to be king

What’s the underside line?

At $109,145, the Raptor R addsa $37,445 premium over the bottom Raptor, although that truck lacks plenty of options the R has. Apples-to-apples, there’s a $25,245 worth delta between a comparably geared up Raptor and Raptor R. That’s some huge cash for a supercharged V-8. Then once more, can you actually put a worth on being king?

Ford flew Motor Authority to chilly, windy, and moist western Michigan and put us up in a small-town Marriott so we might deliver you this primary drive evaluate.