Predator for Raptor? Ford's Performance F-150 Reportedly Tapped for Hottest Engine
You’ll recall that, last week, a video surfaced of a camouflaged 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor prototype with an interesting exhaust note, leading to speculation that the next version of the brand’s dedicated off-road performance pickup would ditch V6 power for something more potent.
Well, today a new report cites sources claiming exactly that. It seems the next Raptor might make use of a Predator.
That’s the code name for the supercharged 5.2-liter V8 found in the Shelby GT500, and Ford Authority claims it’ll find its way into the Raptor as a way of fighting Ram’s new Hellcat-powered TRX.
Sources tell the publication that, in Raptor guise, the mill won’t achieve the same output as in the GT500 — where the engine delivers 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque. Expect something between 725 and 760 hp, they say.
The Ram 1500 TRX revealed earlier this week also sources supercharged ponies, but adds a liter of displacement over the Ford engine. Ram rates the TRX at 702 hp and 650 lb-ft. If Ford indeed plans to swap the high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 for the GT500 engine, it just might find that it wins the horsepower war while losing the torque battle.
Either way, the two competitors would find themselves much more closely matched, though the comparatively economy-minded price of the 2020 Raptor would undoubtedly rise, and probably not by a negligible amount.
The next-generation F-150 Raptor is expected to appear sometime in 2021, with the automaker confirming that the truck won’t skip a model year.
[Image: © 2020 Chris Tonn/TTAC]
More by Steph Willems
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This reminds me of Cadillac of ten or a dozen years ago when they decided they'd sell cars with meh V6s, ZR1 blown V8s, and nothing in between. Ram has nothing between the 5.7 and the Hellcat absurdity, Ford at least has a succession of better EBs even though they sound like crap, but the heart of the market would pay a couple thousand bucks in a heartbeat for a 392 or the 7.3 and in their absence they've ceded the entire best powertrain in a reasonable truck segment to GM.
"...a video surfaced of a camouflaged 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor prototype with an interesting exhaust note..." I thought that Ford exhaust tones came from loudspeakers
I'd be happy with the Coyote V8. Then index the axle ratios for more power or better economy. For me it still has to make sense. Somewhat. 15 mpg or better would be nice.
So will Ram put out a TRX Super Sport with 802hp? I still think the need a Lil' Red Express, maybe with the 392, maybe hellcat powered.