That thing's a beast! Is it really yours?
It actually belongs to my dad who is a landscape designer in Dubai and with a family of four boys, me being the eldest, you can imagine the excitement we all felt at the prospect of owning a Ford Raptor. From a young age, I've had a passion for engines and that includes go-karts, motocross bikes and sinceI just turned 18 years old — cars!
We put a deposit on the Raptor over a year and a half ago with Al Tayer Motors and it only arrived a few weeks ago. It was specially ordered from the US and it was our job to decide on the colour (both interior and exterior) and engine. After a short discussion, we came to the agreement that the exterior had to be black and the interior black with a reddish accent.
In terms of engine size, there was just one option in our eyes and that's the 6.2-litre V8. It has 413bhp and incredible performance and sounds like every V8 should. There is also a set of specially designed Fox front and rear shocks and 35in BF Goodrich tyres. I can't wait to take it to the Big Red in Hatta!
It's had some work done to it, right?
Compared to a stock Ford F-150 the suspension on the Raptor has been designed by Fox Racing, and to compensate for theextra travel, the car had to be made wider byeight inches. This meant that for it to be road legal, Ford had to add three LED lights to the front grille. In the future, I would like to installa new air intake system.
It's a short wheelbase, so what's the comfort like inside?
With off-road performance in mind, we opted for the short wheelbase model, and because this model has the super-crew cab option with suicide doors, the rear legroom is quite limited. However, the front seats are very comfortable and there are even auxiliary switches built into the centre console for options such as lights and winches.
Tell us more about the ‘Big Boss' under the bonnet...
At the heart of any good off-road vehicle, there has to be an engine capable of producing more than 500Nm of torque, something which the Raptor accomplishes easily with its 542Nm.
Anything special about the slush box?
It's a six-speed automatic like in the normal F-150, but the difference with the Raptor is once the off-road mode is engaged, the gear ratios are improved and the revs increased to give a better overall performance.
And how does it perform?
With a 0-100kph time of less than seven seconds, you can imagine just how well a truck of this size performs.
It's off-road season now. Will it see much action?
I normally like to leave off-roading for the weekends when my friends are free and it gives me something to look forward to during the week. Motocross plays a big part in my life and one of the reasons for choosing the Raptor is so that we don't have to worry about a trailer and instead can transport the bikes on the bed — this, however, leaves me with a desert dilemma in terms of do I drive or ride!
You don't drive it daily, do you?
At the moment since it's still very new, I haven't been able to leave it alone. But in the long term we will use the Raptor just for weekends and try to keep the mileage down.
It's certainly not your usual kind of truck...
Unlike most Ferraris and other super fancy cars, the Raptor is still very rare and I think people get curious when they drive past, because compared to the majority of modified pickups in Dubai, the Raptor is very striking.
I am sure I won't get speeding tickets now as I would rather let other cars overtake me so they have a chance to check the Raptor out.
Have you had any other interesting cars?
My father owns a 1972 Triumph Stag.
Do you have a dream car?
Would a Ford F-150 Raptor with a Bugatti Veyron engine qualify?
Bio
- Name: Howard Charles Cracknell
- Job: Student
- From: England
- Wheels: 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
- In the UAE: 18 years
