#2017FordF-150Raptor

In the coming years, we will begin driving riding around in the quiet electric embrace of autonomous convenience. We will look back on the 20-teens as a golden age when the last ounces of performance were wrung out of the internal combustion engine and automakers created cars for every conceivable market niche. New and presently unknown products will one day surprise and delight. But let’s stick with the present, which is a special time for auto enthusiasts.

Consider that the 5,600-pound 2017 Raptor is as fast to 60 miles per hour as the 2007 Mustang GT. Forced induction or not, the Raptor labors under a one-ton weight disadvantage, an unknown coefficient of drag penalty, and a 30-percent displacement deficiency versus the original pony car. A decade ago there was not a single stock vehicle available at any price capable of bounding through the desert at freeway speed that was also able to head back to civilization to pick up the kids from school.

Not convinced? In November, Ford raced a Raptor in the Baja 1000 Stock Full class. It got a roll cage, fuel cell, and a few other tweaks. Of almost 250 entries, the Raptor was among 142 rigs that finished the race. And after taking the checkered flag, it returned under its own power to Ford’s Arizona Proving Grounds 400 miles to the north.

The superlatives associated with Raptor are legion. What’s not to like?

A sharp-eyed reader caught this and sent it to me on Monday. There’s been a variety of speculation about the “2017.5 Raptor” ever since a few Raptors with camouflaged rear ends were spotted on public roads late last year — but this truck, as you’ll see, isn’t wearing any disguise.

Ford Motor Company has issued specifications for its 2017 F-150 Raptor off-road performance pickup, and you can thank the company’s engineers for the attractive numbers.

The next-generation Raptor makes serious gains not just in horsepower and torque, but also in fuel economy. The mileage boost should make those dirt-flinging romps through the countryside just a little bit greener.

A Ford dealer has leaked power figures for the upcoming 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor, showing what Blue Oval engineers can do with a 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6.

According to dealer product document posted on Ford Raptor Forum, the high-output version of Ford’s upgraded twin-turbo six will make 450 horsepower and a whopping 510 pounds-feet of torque.

The Ford F-150 Raptor grows longer legs for 2017, and it knows how to use them. (Apologies to ZZ Top.)

For the next generation model, due out this fall, the automaker teamed up with FOX to give the beastly all-terrain pickup better on- and off-road manners. That means beefier shocker for better cushioning and greater suspension travel.

Ford unveiled Monday its 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew complete with four doors, a 3.5-liter turbocharged V-6 and 10-speed transmission because more numbers always wins, all the time — except for when that number is power output, because apparently we still don’t know that yet.

The supersized truck with a supersized engine shaved 500 pounds by shedding two cylinders and aluminum body parts, according to Ford. The SuperCrew’s 145-inch wheelbase is fully a foot longer than the SuperCab’s footprint, and six inches wider than the current F-150, but still, really, no power figures.

But if you’re really into shaking up four friends in the rear seats, the Raptor SuperCrew sports an available Torsen front differential.